Rebuild of Touhou
by Katsuun97
Summary: Like a cruel angel, young girl become a legend! Evangelion x Touhou Project; rated T for language and violence.
1. 00 You Can Not See

And so, I have decided to start yet another project. Perhaps I can actually finish this instead of leaving it to gather dust.

This time I am creating a Touhou/Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover. Given the ridiculous amounts of crossovers both these series have received, I'm surprised that I've yet to find a major story that crosses the two together. So I will do it. Only my story is not in anyway guaranteed to be major.

The setting here is Gensokyo and all of the characters are from Touhou. Only the general ideas, modified to fit with the Touhou universe; and the overreaching plot remain similar. I've tried my best to make character relationships somewhat fitting, but due to the ludicrous amount of characters the series has; this didn't pan out as well as I would have hoped. Except discrepancies. Many of them.

* * *

**Rebuild of Touhou**

**0.0: You Can (Not) See**

It had been eight years since the devastation that was Second Impact. All of Gensokyo was in chaos- Human Town had been completely abandoned and it's residents all missing or dead. The forests that had once been constantly illuminated by the activity of thousands of little fairies were dark and foreboding as they had never been before. The whole of Gensokyo was silent- horribly, horribly silent. Life was unspeakably quiet- from the tallest mountains to the floor of the deepest lakes and seas nobody spoke. Nobody spoke, nobody was seen. Except in one place.

Bishoujo Installation for Research and Defense. BIRD, founded by Rinnosuke Morichika; was a loosely collected group dedicated to the protection of Gensokyo from the chaos and devastation left in the wake of the Second Impact. What no member of BIRD bothered to mention was that they were directly responsible for the disaster, but none of the leaders felt that this was information that needed to be given to the public regardless.

They had yet to establish a permanent headquarters. As a stopgap measure; BIRD had fixed up the long deserted and dilapidated Scarlet Mansion, which now served as a bastion to at least 20,000 youkai and humans. The mansion, though unusually large despite outward appearances; was still close to it's breaking point. BIRD was currently in the process of establishing more permanent and secure headquarters; for now the masses would have to live in grudging peace while better lodgings were found. The halls were constantly crowded with all manner of fairies, spirits, and humans who conversed in subdued tones. The air was heavy; everyone seemed to be depressed by the horror of what they had just gone through.

Beneath the Mansion was an extensive set of tunnels where prisoners had once been held. The tunnels had been expanded and fitted with equipment, and the BIRD had laboratories. The Second Impact had had the unusual effect of dampening the powers of Gensokyo's population. Where they could once fly and otherwise break the laws of physics as they had seen fit; now even the greatest youkai had at best, the ability of a standard human. The populace was now helpless to defend themselves- even the agents of BIRD only had artificial emulators that could shoot only the meanest of beams that they had once been capable of firing without preamble. The now common folk were told that the laboratories were being used to develop the powers they had lost anew. In a way this was not a lie.

Iku Nagae, former mentor of Rinnosuke and adviser to the project was in a wing of these laboratories now; observing a rudimentary device that it's developed claimed could fire artificial beams at a rate of 12 per second- far higher than what current devices could achieve. After an hour of technical failures and blustering on the part of it's developers; Iku recognized the project as a lost cause and made her excuses. She departed, long flamboyant scarf that she had been famous for prior to the Impact trailing behind her as she made her way to the surface. She had reached a staircase and was beginning to ascend when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to appraise them:

_"Miss Nagae, I didn't expect to find you here!"_ A hat decorated with fake peaches and leaves perched on a blue haired girl in a pink frilled dress. Tenshi Hinanai; one of the few with sufficient knowledge of the 'outside' to work with technology, had been assigned to work with BIRD almost immediately after Iku. Having had a long and stressful relationship with Tenshi prior to the Impact; Iku had avoided Tenshi like the plague, but she supposed that such a charade couldn't last forever. Iku was actually surprised that she had avoided notice for as long as she had.

_"Yes Tenshi," _Iku grumbled. She turned her back to Tenshi and began to ascend once more, hoping that Tenshi would leave matters at that. Of course, Tenshi then proceeded to follow Iku; jabbering on about something or another as they continued to meander through the Mansion.

_"I can't believe I've yet to see you until now; how did that happen?" _Iku quickened her pace ever so slightly. _"I mean, the Mansion is large and all- but you don't think that we could both be here for so long and miss each other!" _Iku broke into a power walk. _"Unless you arrived recently?" _At this point, the two women were running; dresses fluttering behind them as they sprinted down the hallways of the mansion, past various people who looked after them with raised eyebrows as they thundered past. _"Are you in a hurry Miss Nagae? Because if you are, then I really don't want to be a bother!" _Iku continued to run in silence, Tenshi hot on her heels; until she turned a corner- right into a closed door.

Iku rebounded of the door with a grunt of pain; Tenshi gave a skip and thrust her arms out to catch her former mentor. Missing by miles; she hurtled past the falling Iku, who fell into an undignified position with her scarf twisted into a mass around her. Tenshi was immediately by Iku's side, apologizing and offering a hand to bring Iku to her feet. Iku took the hand, straightening up and pulling her scarf back into position.

_"Hn. I don't remember Tenshi being this nice before- why did I want to avoid her to begin with?" _Iku gave the obligatory gesture of gratitude; Tenshi waved it off. Iku smiled; Tenshi smiled back. Iku was beginning to reconsider her apprehension towards Tenshi, when a youkai with antennae and unusually masculine clothes approached Tenshi from behind with a sweet roll in her hands. She tapped Tenshi on the shoulder and asked of her in a quivering voice:

_"Excuse me madame, but do you know where-?"_

The rest of her sentence was cut off by Tenshi suddenly grabbing the sweet roll away from her. She knocked the girl back with her free hand and coldly replied, _"Shut up, can't you see I'm talking here?" _The abused girl staggered for a second, then ran away from the pair of them. As if nothing had happened, Tenshi turned to Iku and offered her the roll.

_"Now I remember. She's a total jackass to everyone except me." _Iku refused the roll and watched as Tenshi tore into it with little restraint. _"Bad manners as well," _Iku reflected as drool rolled from a corner of Tenshi's mouth. She wiped at it idly with a sleeve and continued to devour the roll. _"In all, she was a total embarrassment to be around. And apparently, eight years have not changed __that." _Iku groaned, when Tenshi looked to her she passed it off as nothing. _"But now that she's found me, I suppose that I really have no choice in the matter. There's no way to avoid her now." _Iku continued to inwardly lament as Tenshi finished off her dubiously acquired food.

_"Whats this then? A lady friend I've never met before, Iku?" _The rare voice of masculinity and slow, deep confidence almost immediately identified the speaker. Iku turned to behold Rinnosuke Morichika; leader of BIRD and one of the smartest persons alive on Gensokyo. He had many years of experience with the 'outside', knew how to operate artificial weapons and his will; not fiery but rather tempered like iron, had earned him much respect amongst those he led. Iku considered him her brightest pupil; white hair, glasses, and bold grin now standing before the pair of them.

_"Who is- who...-?" _Tenshi had turned to Iku and Rinnosuke asking who had just spoken. She now froze in her tracks. Her eyes had frozen upon contact with Rinnosuke; she had stopped talking and seemed to be drinking in the sight of him. Her cheeks began to flush, Iku noticed a bead of sweat suddenly trickling down the side of her face. Iku rolled her eyes, the whole thing reeked of a bad shipping. Still it couldn't be helped- for reasons unknown far more men than women had died during the Second Impact. The few men left were mostly sequestered away for purposes of artificially insemination of the remainder population. Thus, most women had not seen a man for a long time. Iku supposed hormones would race very quickly in such circumstances. Though she had to admit that Rinnosuke was handsome by most standards.

_"I think your friend here is having a bit of trouble speaking, Iku." _Rinnosuke chuckled as he observed Tenshi; he nodded at her and offered her a warm smile.

_"Iku... Iku... Iku..." _Tenshi had grown slightly delirious, one could practically feel the heat radiating from her into the surrounding air. Iku stepped between the pair of them and spoke on behalf of Tenshi.

_"Her name is Tenshi Hinanai; much to my displeasure she was once my pupil." _Iku shot a glance back at the reeling Tenshi before continuing. _"You'll have to forgive her; she doesn't seem to be herself as of now." _Rinnosuke nodded and pulled Iku aside; away from Tenshi before speaking further:

_"Right. I was just going to tell you that CAT has requested a conference with us." _CAT, or The Cabal of Ambiguous Turpitude as it stood for; was an organization that claimed to act as 'government' of Gensokyo during and after the crisis. It's real influence had yet to be seen, as most of it's members remained ambiguous as their namesake. Most of the common population of Gensokyo were not even aware of CAT's existence- but CAT controlled most of the money that remained in circulation; thus BIRD was beholden to them despite their misgivings on the matter. _"I'll be needing you to arrange a conference with them- as soon as possible if you can."_

_ "I'm not available; I'll be on site at the Hakurei Shrine." _Iku shrugged apologetically. _"I suppose I'll have to get somebody else." _A tap at her shoulder. Iku turned around, nearly ran into Tenshi's still outstretched hand.

_ "I'll do it." _Tenshi sounded subdued, as if she was trying to make herself scarce. Rinnosuke turned to her; she edged back, startled. _"Erm, yes... I'll meet CAT for you." _She continued to mumble as she tried to avoid Rinnosuke's scrutiny; he nodded at her with yet another smile.

_"Why thank you Miss Hinanai. Your offer is accepted of course- and I will be keeping an eye on __you in the future. You show initiative that it is difficult to find in post-Impact Gensokyo. Iku, brief her if necessary and escort her to the conference room; I must meet with the human council to discuss the issue of their stay here." _Rinnosuke extended a hand to Tenshi; she shied away from the proffered hand. Rinnosuke chuckled once more, nodded at Iku; and strode down the corridor, out of sight.

_"You can stop being a fangirl now, Tenshi." _Iku waited until Rinnosuke was out of sight before she began to heckle her student. _"What happened to the bold and unstoppable Tenshi Hinanai; now reduced to a blubbering girl in love?"_

_ "Who... who was he?" _Tenshi felt lightly at her cheeks, still somewhat stupefied. Iku dragged Tenshi down the corridor and to a staff list posted on a door; she indicated Rinnosuke with a point to the list.

_"Have you never been in love, lust, or whatever before?"_

_ "Well, I felt this strange but pleasant warmth throughout my body, from my face to my-"_

_ "Yes well," _Iku hastily interrupted Tenshi's speech. _"I suppose you are new to this feeling; given that you handled that situation with the same grace as would a schoolgirl. Scratch that, you handled it with even less grace and subtlety." _Iku continued to lead Tenshi along, pulling her back into the underground facilities. Once they were safely underground, Iku finally stopped; turning to face Tenshi when she began to speak:

_"Well, now what do I do?"_

_ "You meet the leaders of CAT as you said you would," _Iku responded. She indicated the corridor they occupied. _"If you go behind me," _Iku explained with a thumb jerk to emphasize her point, _"Then you will find a sealed room at the end. You must say this exactly as I repeat it to you: NGC 7293, Eye of God." _

_ "NGC 7293, Eye of God." _Iku nodded as Tenshi repeated it to her. Iku was turning to depart when Tenshi caught her by the shoulder. Turning on the balls of her feet to face her student once again, she noted the sudden concern evident in Tenshi's face. _"But Miss Nagae_, _what am I supposed to do once there?" _

_"That's something you need to figure out." _Iku shrugged noncommittally at Tenshi; who raised an eyebrow. _"Personal conversation is something that you need to know how to do- it can't really be taught." _At this, Tenshi was crestfallen.

_"Madame!" _Her eyes began to shimmer with liquid; Iku rolled her eyes as she had seen this routine many times before. _"How am I supposed to do such a thing if I've never done it before? Mr. Morichika is depending on me- I can't let him down!" _Tenshi kept a grip on Iku's forearm; Iku sighed and figured she had to disclose something.

_"Fine," _Iku began as she tried in vain to wrest herself from Tenshi's grip. _"If you are so 'desperate' then I will tell you something." _Tenshi perked up at this, she moved close and Iku offered her a grimace. _"Their leader is not a 'person' in the sense of the world; but an aggregation of the desires of the true leaders of CAT. 'Her' name is YuugenMagan; I have met her several times and she manifests as a female made of pure light or whatever the substance is. She respects those who remain __respectful, but willing to interject and take initiative if she has made a mistake." _Tenshi stood there for a second, drinking in the knowledge while Iku continued to try and jerk her arm away from Tenshi.

_"Makes sense madame!" _She relinquished Iku's arm; before Iku could say anything Tenshi was speeding off down the corridor past her. Iku continued to rub at the now sore patch where Tenshi had been clamped onto her as she watched her pupil vanish around a bend.

_"Doesn't even thank me..." _Iku continued to look down the corridor; she sighed and shrugged to herself inwardly. _"I know that she means well however. At least, I hope she does... oh!" _Iku suddenly recalled that she had a task to do. _"I had best get going to the Hakurei Shrine." _Iku wondered how her pupil would do meeting with YuugenMagan. _"It would behoove her not to do anything dumb- or worse, be herself." _Iku involuntarily shuddered at the thought of her student getting on YuugenMagan's bad side. _"I hope she knows what to do."_

_

* * *

_

Tenshi stood before a plain steel sliding door emblazoned with an unusual symbol. It was the drawing of an eye, enclosed in a triangle with beam like projections from each of it's sides. The corridor terminated here; Tenshi assumed this had to be the conference room. It was secluded, the walk here had taken her past most of the used areas of the underground facility and into some of the desolate and unused portions of the facility.

Tenshi was still confused over what precisely had happened there; she would rarely consent to do anything for anyone besides Iku. The strange excitement that she had felt upon her notice of Rinnosuke had been something she had never felt before; energy that made her unusually but wonderfully tired, she desired to so something or another with Rinnosuke that she couldn't quite put her tongue on at the moment. All she knew was that this feeling had inspired her to actually be a helpful person, which worried her more than anything else.

But now what she had to worry about was not screwing up. _"I don't normally care about what others think about me... but now I care about Rinnosuke's opinion. And to be in his good graces; I have to be in the good graces of this YuugenMagen." _Tenshi snickered to herself at this. _"What kind of name is YuggenMagen anyways? Pretty strange if you ask me." _Tenshi cleared her throat, knocked once at the door. When nothing happened; she spoke the password:

_"NGC 7293, Eye of God." _Almost immediately the door sprang to life; smoothly and silently sliding open to reveal the room beyond. It was unusually dark; only a single flickering spotlight shone to reveal a simple wooden chair that had been placed into the room. The light only barely illuminated the walls of the room, large by normal standards; and seemingly bare of everything but the chair. Tenshi took a tentative step forward into the room. When nothing occurred; she quickly crossed through to the illuminated chair and took her seat.

Tenshi nearly jumped from her seat when the doors slid shut with a crisp snap behind her. She quickly readjusted herself; smoothed out her hair and dress before sitting with both hands in her lap. Again, she noted how she had actually taken pains to care about her appearance and mannerisms before this person. All things she had rarely done before. For a minute; she remained alone with her thoughts.

_"Hm? They've sent a new representative?" _Tenshi gave a curt nod in response to the question; she glanced about her for the speaker. Seeing nothing, she deigned to look up and see if there was a speaker or something along those lines that she had missed.

And she screamed; jumping clear from her chair and scrambling into the darkness until she found herself against a wall. Massive eyes had materialized onto the ceiling. Five, to be exact; enclosed by crackling purplish and golden light and bronze discs that glared at her in an extremely unsettling manner. For several tense seconds; Tenshi remained pressed against the wall; fearfully considering the eyes that glared, unblinking back at her. And then a chuckle, high pitched and clearly defined.

_"Miss Nagae didn't tell you about our methods? She seems to love doing that to those she sends to us." _Tenshi wearily considered the noise; in the center of the room a vaguely shaped female had formed of golden threads of light. Similarly colored beams of electricity connected the five eyes to the girl. This then, was YuugenMagen.

_"You scared me there; could you watch it in the future?" _Tenshi clapped a hand over her mouth; only seconds in she already feared she had gone too far. YuugenMagen however, merely shrugged.

_"I'll make a note of it. My counterparts will be intrigued to note the shift in representatives; normally Iku herself speaks to us." _YuugenMagen pointed out the empty chair; Tenshi cautiously approached it while keeping an eye directed at the eyes at all times. Tenshi seated herself, smoothed out her dress once more and began to address YuugenMagen in earnest.

_"Well, Miss YuugenMagen she would have; but she had important matters to attend to today."_

_ "Please call me Yuugen." _Tenshi nodded, she was sure to keep her tone polite and her actions subdued. _"Here in CAT we believe in maintaining a degree of intimacy with those we work with. What may I have the pleasure of addressing you as?" _

_ "Tenshi Hinanai, madame." _Tenshi began to relax; Yuugen seemed to be nice enough and was actually smiling at her. It was a creepy, smug sort of smile accentuated by the dark reddish tint of her eyes; but Tenshi figured that Yuugen had been built to look like that. Tenshi slouched slightly in her seat as she continued, _"I volunteered to take Iku's place when I learned of her departure."_

_ "How forward of you; I like that." _Yuugen circled around Tenshi's chair as she spoke. _"Well this shouldn't take too long. I only need to inquire as to the progress of Project Wadjet." _Tenshi raised an eyebrow; she had never heard of such a term during her stay at the Scarlet Mansion. _"Oh yes, that is a classified name." _Yuugen groaned to herself. _"I really shouldn't have told you that; but it's too late to change the fact now. Have you been trying to develop new emulators that will copy the spell cards we could once use?" _Tenshi nodded; she had been involved on one of those projects previously. _"That is the gist of Project Wadjet."_

_ "That I know," _Tenshi nodded to Yuugen. _"We have been doing well: we're very close to developing the Evil-Sealing Circle- months ahead of schedule I might add. The bullet and beam emulators are on track; and so are the spell card emulators themselves." _Yuugen nodded; she closed her eyes for a second. Tenshi looked up and noted that the eyes had sealed themselves as well; purplish eyelids closing over the cornea. When they opened their eyes Tenshi looked down; indeed, Yuugen had opened her eyes as well.

_"Thank you for that- the masters are quite pleased with your progress." _Tenshi acknowledged the information and began to fidget; she wasn't used to sitting still for long periods of time. Yuugen didn't seem to notice; she plowed on without preamble. _"Have you been given any news as to the __establishment of permanent headquarters at the Harukei Shrine?" _

_ "None, madame." _Tenshi rubbed wearily at her eyes; she felt slightly worn out and longed for a few minutes of slumber.

_ "That would be classified then. I will call a meeting with Iku later then, I am sure she can make the time." _Tenshi shrugged noncommittally; Yuugen looked at her and nodded. _"I see that you are wary and require rest; I do believe that this is all for now. You may go." _Yuugen made a gesture at the door; which slid open as if actually sensing her intent. Stretching in her seat; Tenshi slipped in her self-control:

_"Finally, that was a bore to plow through-" _Tenshi suddenly clapped her hands over her mouth as she became aware of what she was saying. She looked around, wildly expecting to get struck by lightning. A full scan of her surroundings made her aware of the fact that she was alone in the dark room. She looked to the ceiling; the ceiling was bare and void of any unsettling eyes. She was alone; fortunately for her they had seemingly disappeared before catching her slip up.

Breathing a sigh of relief Tenshi departed. As the door slid shut behind her she noted the eye symbol that had been placed on the door. _"Given how Yuugen manifests I'm not surprised. I should ask Iku about it." _Yawning, Tenshi took off down the corridor.

* * *

_"Rate of energy conversion consistently approaches 100%. Ladies and gentlemen we've done it." _Iku stepped back amidst cheers and clapping from the gathered crew; beholding their test subject. A room, sealed off from them and with a thickly reinforced view port; had char marks burned indiscriminately into it's walls, floor, and ceiling. They had successfully tested the final prototype of the Evil-Sealing Circle; a powerful bomb designed for conventional usage. One of those clapping was Rinnosuke; eyes still slightly wide from the impressive display of the bomb.

_"I have to hand it to you; you are a genius Iku. As are you Rikako." _A purple haired girl in a pink lab coat and glasses; Rikako Asakura, head scientist of BIRD. Rikako inclined her head at Rinnosuke before returning to her computer monitor. _"And I see that the child is coming along as well." _He indicated Rikako's distended belly; she had been one of the latest batch chosen by lottery to be artificially inseminated- eight months ago. She was due for maternity leave in a week; a fact that slightly irked her, since she would have rather remained working.

_"Yes, the child should be due within a month. An inconvenience; but it will be nice to have somebody to pass my knowledge onto." _Rikako continued to type; shifting her glasses as she did so. _"Computers make science so much easier- I wonder why we didn't use them prior to Second Impact?"_

_ "Because we had no need for them," _Rinnosuke coolly responded. _"What do you plan on naming the child?" _

_ "It depends on whether it's a boy or girl; I've yet to make a concrete decision. I do know that since the father is unknown that I am allowed to choose the last name. I think I give him or her the last name of Knowledge- to pass on my hopes and desires to the baby."_

_ "A fine choice," _Iku smiled slightly at Rikako. _"If a bit challenged in creativity." _Rikako swiveled in her chair and shot Iku a dark look before returning once more to her work; Iku's smile widened. She was still smiling when she felt that now familiar tap at her shoulder.

_"Tenshi," _Iku turned to regard her pupil as she stood; having made the unusual choice of going out with her night clothes still on. Iku covered her face with a hand and shook it slightly as she groaned through her palm, _"Tenshi, that's really not socially acceptable you know. How the hell do you get away with this sort of thing?"_

_ "She's brilliant enough to put up with despite her lack of proper manners." _Rikako spoke up, back still to them as she continued to elaborate. _"I've had her in my team for two years now; developed half the program for the Yin-Yang orbs herself." _

_ "So she was here for two years and nobody deigned to tell me?" _Iku grumbled under her breath as she continued to consider her pupil; now quietly admiring Rinnosuke from the entryway into the lab. _"Forget it, what did Yuugen want this time?"_

_ "She just wanted an update on our progress," _Tenshi responded without removing her gaze from Rinnosuke. _"By the way Miss Nagae; in the future it would be nice if you told me that people manifested in a crap load of creepy eyes so I don't get scared witless upon meeting them..." _

Iku shrugged under the scrutiny of her pupil. _"It slipped my mind." _Tenshi rolled her eyes before she began to depart.

_"By the way master, Yuugen wanted to know how we're doing with the Harukei Shrine. Obviously, I wasn't fit to provide that information." _Iku nodded, she excused herself from the laboratory and made after Tenshi. Tenshi held the door for her and the pair of them continued on their way.

_"I'll tell her myself- I need to tell CAT that we finished the Evil-Sealing Circles already." _Tenshi nodded with an arrogant smile; she had contributed extensively to that project as well. _"Now we can shift our resources to other divisions of Project Wadjet; we'll be finished far ahead of our projected time rate." _Tenshi remained beside Iku; she caught Iku's eyes and asked:

_"By the way madame, I found this weird little mark on that weirdo Yuugen's door; what the hell was that supposed to be?" _Iku remained silent for a few seconds, trying to recall that particular sight before it came to her with a snap.

_"Oh yes. The Eye of Providence." _Tenshi raised an eyebrow at her teacher, Iku continued to explain, _"The leaders of CAT seem to have a fetish for references to eyes; and they included this in their symbolism. The Eye of Providence is a religious symbol from the 'outside' that marks the idea of an omniscient god looking upon his people." _

_ "So it's ego-stroking?" _Tenshi asked bluntly.

_"In a way, yes." _Iku laughed. _"But on a more serious note, you must really learn to restrain yourself in public. We got complaints from the parents of a 'Wriggle Nightbug' who you apparently hurt at some point previously."_

At this Tenshi herself laughed. _"We'll see madame. We'll see."_


	2. 10 A Beginning Ends in Darkness

As a brief aside; italics are used to identify speech. All of my future chapters are going to be somewhat long; since I'm going to try dividing them as the actual NGE series; 26 episodes and a movie(ish) chapter. Feedback would be appreciated; if I should split up the chapters more or not.

* * *

**Rebuild of Touhou**

**1.0: A Beginning (Ends) in Darkness**

It had now been thirty years since the cataclysm of the Second Impact. The world was still uncannily quiet; though to a far lesser degree as the inhabitants of Gensokyo had felt it safe enough to spread out once more. Conversations were still hushed; women still feared what went bump in the night and many of the more remote areas of Gensokyo remained abandoned. The Scarlet Mansion; now christened Human Town-2 by the administrative human-youkai government served as the capital of a once proud world that was only now getting back onto it's feet.

As one got farther from the mansion the density of inhabitants grew less until the shores of the lake; where a large bridge had been built to accommodate the now flightless population. Such a structure would have been alien in pre-Impact Gensokyo; but it was now a fact of life as thousands streamed across it from their work in Human Town-2 to their homes in the Hakurei Shrine during the evenings and back every morning. While the transition from the ease of living with magic to a life where one needed to work for a living was quite a shock to the somewhat decadent residents of Gensokyo; they had proven surprisingly resilient in making the change and now worked with as much diligence as one would expect of an 'outside' human.

Across the lake from Human Town-2 was the Forest of Magic; treetops only barely visible from the beaches of the island if one looked on a good day. Having had a bad reputation even before the Second Impact the forests were still largely abandoned; most of the houses in the forest were abandoned and the paths overrun by uncleared foliage and weeds. Very few people even bothered traveling through the forest; rather sailing around it by boat if necessary.

Over time, urban legends and old wives tales had built up about the place; including one particular tale about how a young girl with malicious intent wandered the forests looking for victims. Ironically this tale actually had a semblance of truth to it; though Alice Morichika was anything but malicious. Having been left to grow up in seclusion with only token parental assistance from a tender age; Alice tended towards somewhat antisocial behavior, but nothing that warranted the title of a creepy child. She was a blonde-haired girl; now aged fourteen and dressed in somewhat worn pink scarf overlaying a blue dress with a pink band running across her hair from ear to ear.

She dwelt in a white, pseudo-Victorian affair at the waterfront edge of the woods; surprisingly well-maintained considering that she was the only person actually living in the house, the paint always appeared to have been freshly applied and the windows were always spotless. Alice took pride in maintaining what was technically 'her' house; though it occasionally bugged her that nobody actually bothered paying attention to her hard work. Not even her own mother came by; Tenshi Morichika spent most of her time at work and they had last seen one another when Alice was six years old.

So it came as quite a shock to Alice when her mailbox; which had never actually seen use and had been rusting away since the day she had been left by herself, had it's red flag turned up. At first Alice thought it was a prank; some child's idea of a dare or something along those lines. But curiosity had won her over and she had deigned to check the box. When she opened it- with some difficulty given that she had given up on keeping it well conditioned when she had realized that nobody would ever bother to mail her letters- she had found a letter from her mother, of all things.

It was a picture, depicting a gray haired girl dressed in a maid's outfit. White apron, frills, even two little bows pinned to her shoulders. Alice groaned upon looking at the picture; why her mother would send her such a picture was beyond her. Scrawled on a corner of the picture in a cramped hand was the simple message:

_"Her name is Sakuya Izayoi. If you are interested in a rendezvous with me to discuss some issues pertinent to you; Miss Izayoi will be waiting for you at the forests edge tomorrow at noon." _It was signed by Tenshi herself. Alice raised an eyebrow to herself; such a move was something she never expected from her widowed mother. They had never even talked on the phone. Needless to say, Alice was somewhat skeptical. She figured that it was some sort of practical joke or screw up; and she almost tossed the picture away before she figured it would be best to keep it should she decide to follow up on the offer.

Retiring for the night, Alice ran through the house with a broom as was her routine; then fell asleep on the living room couch. Above the fireplace opposite was mounted a family portrait; it depicted a rare image of her mother actually smiling and being together with her father, Rinnosuke Morichika. Alice had never known her father, he had apparently died before she had been of an age where she could clearly commit him to memory. Every night before sleeping Alice tried to probe her subconscious for buried memories of her dead father. And every night Alice ultimately threw her face into a pillow, her attempts frustrated; and settled into an uneasy sleep.

Morning came around, Alice awoke and prepared herself breakfast. It was always simple; rice and steamed vegetables from the small orchard she tended to in her backyard. She never bothered changing from her daily clothes into something more suitable for sleep; she only changed into a fresh set of the exact same clothes every few days when she washed her used set, for she had two. Her mother couldn't even be troubled to leave a decent wardrobe for Alice. Alice cared little for the most part, but the thought still occasionally troubled her.

She was going through her morning routine; sweeping off the front porch of the house when she heard footsteps. Alice looked up, slightly perturbed. Very few people ever bothered entering the Forest of Magic; so Alice wondered just why somebody would be coming this way. The footsteps were coming closer; branches cracking and leaves crunching as the unknown person drew closer. Alice listened for a moment, then realized that there were to many little noises to account for only one person; there had to be at least ten bearing down on her position. And the noise was too heavy to be raised by a band of curious children. Alice remained still; keeping her eyes trained on the source of the noise. A rustle, the slight shaking of a bush underneath some weight. A whisper, then silence.

Then from the bushes emerged a group of youkai; twenty or so armed with bullet emulators. All trained on Alice. Alice froze on the spot; let her broom drop to the porch with a dull clatter. The youkai were simply dressed; with plain black dresses cut short at the knees to allow a fuller range of movement. Similarly plain headbands kept any stay hair from falling into their eyes. Their expressions were blank; they merely kept their sights on Alice. She held her hands up to indicate her unwillingness to fight and get killed; a blonde girl who was their apparent leader approached her.

_"Please back up against the wall." _Her voice was dispassionate; almost robotic in it's tone. She brandished her emulator for effect; Alice hastily complied and pressed herself against the door of her house. The leader turned back to her unit and nodded; immediately they fanned out and took positions around the clearing in which Alice's house had been built.

_"If you don't mind me asking," _Alice projected across to the leader; who turned to consider her. _"Who are you all and exactly why was a squadron of women sent to detain me?" _The leader approached her; uncomfortably close as they were practically eye to eye. Alice coolly held her gaze as the leader spoke into her face.

_"That is classified." _The leader was still speaking with no hint of emotion and still had a blank facial expression. Alice wondered if this was how she naturally spoke to people. _"All you need to know as a civilian is that this is BIRD business." _Alice inclined her head. BIRD was well known as having been the driving force behind the miraculous post-Impact recovery. They had their detractors of course; but they were largely respected and even admired amongst the general populace. Alice knew that her own mother's work had something to do with BIRD; though what exactly Tenshi did Alice was largely in the dark about.

_"Well can I at least have the pleasure of knowing who has so kindly taken the time to detain me?" _Alice asked dryly.

_"Medicine Melancholy, head of BIRD Division-2." _Medicine began to idly play with her emulator; pulling the clip out of place and tossing it around as if it were a toy. _"And you would be?"_

_ "Alice Morichika." _Alice said it casually, already resigned to bear whatever she suffered at the hands of her captors; but Medicine was somewhat more impacted, her eyebrows raising and her eyes widening as she heard the name.

_"Morichika? Just like Tenshi Morichika?" _Alice nodded at this, raising her eyebrows in turn as she heard her mothers name.

_"Tenshi's my mother; why do you know her? Is she important in BIRD?" _

_ "Important?" _Alice noted the slight hint of incredulity that sneaked into her otherwise still indifferent tone. _"Ms. Morichikia has been the head of BIRD for six years, so yes I would say that she is important." _Alice considered this; her mother hadn't told her that she had taken up such an important position. It stung slightly; knowing that Tenshi hadn't even made the slightest mention of such an important detail. _"What, did your mother never tell you that?" _Alice shook her head, Medicine offered her a slight grimace. _"She's that kind of person to everybody in BIRD; don't worry. Even her own mentor, Miss Nagae is treated pretty coldly by acceptable standards."_

The two of them were silent for several minutes; while Alice ruminated over whether her mother had ever mentioned anything about her role, Medicine reassembled her gun and went ordering her unit about. After reaching the satisfactory conclusion that Tenshi had never mentioned a thing; Alice called Medicine back to her:

_"Miss Melancholy, would you please do me a favor?" _Medicine returned to Alice's side; still hovering unusually close to Alice as she spoke. _"I promise I won't cause you any trouble, so can I please move from this wall now?" _

_ "I'm actually considering sending you off the premises." _Medicine now had some sort of mechanical device in her hand; she was clicking at it at some intervals, waiting at others, then resuming the typing once more. _"As the daughter of Ms. Morichikia we have no right to detain you. Besides, the nature of our operation is such that it would be best if you weren't around when we started." _Alice nodded, she edged around Medicine; who only pivoted and kept their faces in near contact as she continued to address Alice. _"Now, will you need an escort or do you have something in mind?"_

Alice looked up, through the sparse foliage to the sky where the sun already shone brightly at it's apex in the sky. She had been up longer than she had thought. _"Don't worry," _Alice didn't bother to look down to Medicine; but kept her eyes trained on the blue skies above. _"I have something in mind."_

_

* * *

_

Human Town-3. If there was anywhere in Gensokyo that could be considered a true safe haven, it was Human Town-3; built on the former Harukei Shrine. From a distance it could be seen; as far away as the shores of the lake housing Human Town-2; with a large constructed footpath connecting the two cities. Human Town-2 may have been the capital of Gensokyo; but Human Town-3 was it's true heart. And it was also BIRD headquarters.

The entire town was surrounded by a massive set of artificial shields that had been inspired by the concept of bullet 'walls' that the residents of Gensokyo could once fire at will. Each individual shield consisted of thousands of pressurized bullets; 42 in total stacked tightly together to form a massive, nearly impenetrable mass that hung like a barrier around the entirety of the city. If close enough to the dome one noticed that the surface was rather like liquid; it rippled and splashed about instead of remaining inert in place.

There was only one place where the shield could be dropped; a metal gate facing Human Town-2 where entrance was allowed in times of peace. Traffic here was nearly constant; most lived here under protection and worked administrative positions in Human Town-2. Beyond the gate were many traditional style homes; made of wood or brick as most could still afford to keep their houses in classical style. Shops, markets, and all manner of other buildings also lined the streets; all the way up to the Shrine Pyramid.

A large, more artificial construction in comparison to the surrounding buildings; the Shrine Pyramid had been built around the original Hakurei Shrine gate for reasons that remained classified. Lined with glass, the building shone in the light of the sun and stood as an impressive monolith that showcased the power of BIRD.

Within the extensive complex was a large hub; here there was plenty of open space between various wall inlets where information or maps could be displayed. The inlets housed the staff of BIRD when they were at work; as it did now, with BIRD members occupying most of the terminals and typing away on keyboards that brought up new tidbits of information onto the overall picture being formed in the center of the room. From an elevated position Tenshi Morichika and Iku Nagae served to overview the situation; directly beneath their booth they watched a group of rabbits babbling amongst themselves and pointing at times to the data projection that was forming in the room's center.

Tei Inaba, their leader dressed in a clean white dress looked up to the two of them in their booth. She nodded at them; Tenshi cocked her head slightly before turning to Iku.

_"A bit of an irritation; CAT sending these fools to interfere with our own operations." _Iku shrugged; Tenshi turned to Tei and shouted down to her, _"Remind me again why we require the aid of __the so-called Gensokyo Defense Force when we posses the products of Project Wadjet?" _Tei's ears perked up at this; she cupped a hand to one and pantomimed speaking. Tenshi reiterated at a louder volume. Tei nodded and shouted in turn:

_"You're being a bit cocky Ms. Morichikia." _Tenshi folded her arms across the railing and scrutinized Tei as she continued to speak. _"The Gensokyo Defense Force directly represents the interests of the people; and as a result it is only natural that we should have representatives in the BIRD. Unlike us, BIRD is strictly a mercenary group by all definitions of the word." _Tei smiled wickedly when she saw that she had hit a nerve; Tenshi had balled up one of her fists and now glared openly at the rabbit who was cheeking her.

_"Yes, the Gensokyo Defense Force is a military group directly representing the people," _Tenshi began coolly; despite her still tightly clenched fist and still ugly glare. _"But it also only has one armed unit- in comparison to our five." _Tei took a step back and gritted her teeth at this; it was true that the Gensokyo Defense Force was extremely small in comparison to BIRD. _"In fact, it is even one of our own units that you have sequestered for this operation." _Tenshi examined a nail. _"Thus you are in no position to talk, Miss Inaba." _Tei grimaced and shot back:

_"I would like to remind you, Ms. Morichikia that we still control a substantial portion of your finding. If you wish to lose access to this money; by all means do keep speaking." _The two women continued to stand off; glaring at one another and throwing insults back and forth until Iku felt the need to step in. Wrapping her arms around Tenshi she pulled the blue-haired girl back despite protestation; saying as she did so:

_"Ok then, I think we are at an impasse here. Come along Tenshi; not wise to try and prolong the conflict..." _Iku managed to deposit Tenshi with some force into an armchair; Tenshi finally calmed and picked at her cuffs, talking as if nothing had occurred:

_"Let us see what the Defense Force can do then." _Iku nodded; relieved that her student was dropping the matter. Something wise that the Tenshi she knew from twenty two years ago wouldn't have done; though the changes and relative maturation had not come without a price. Tenshi had always cold and somewhat aloof since the death of her former husband Rinnosuke. It was a long and complicated story; one that Iku didn't have the time to recall at the moment. A live video feed appeared on screen, depicting Medicine Melancholy and her squad; who had turned Alice's- technically Tenshi's- house into a sort of stronghold.

_"Miss Melancholy, report." _A squeaky voice was this one, a relatively young rabbit with pinkish ears named Reisen; who judging by her nervousness had only just joined the Gensokyo Defense Force. _"Erm... position?"_

_ "Forest of Magic... of course." _Medicine raised an eyebrow at the feed; Tei covered her face with her long ears and Reisen stuttered; thrown off by her unnecessary comment. She fiddled with the control board and stammered out:

_"So... yeah, erm... are you armed?" _

_ "We wouldn't be here if we weren't..." _Medicine cocked her head; most likely to Reisen, who was now looking helplessly from Tei to Medicine and back again. Iku was chuckling; even Tenshi cracked a cruel smile. Already the Defense Force was making itself look foolish. Tei was actually flushing with embarrassment now; she finally snatched the microphone from Reisen forcefully and grumbled into it:

_"All preliminaries run through?"_

_"Yes madame." _Behind Medicine the members of the unit were yucking it up over the ridiculous questions they had just heard; Reisen had made herself scarce and slunk down in her seat so that only her forehead could be seen over the control board. _"What is time to impact?"_

_ "Two minutes until Angel reaches your position." '_Crazed-ones', or 'Angels' as they had been nicknamed; were youkai that had managed to keep their powers even after Second Impact, but at a terrible cost. Their minds had been warped and perverted; reduced to only their basest instincts and filled with a lust for bloodshed. Most of them had vanished while Human Town-2 and 3 were still under construction; but with the recent completion of Shrine Pyramid they had suddenly been spotted once more in the abandoned northern reaches of Gensokyo. The approach of one into occupied areas; a youkai who was identified as having once been a girl by the name of Rumia, had been documented but a week ago. And now she was on the very outskirts of the towns themselves.

_"Are you even remotely concerned about the safety of Alice?" _Iku tapped Tenshi on the shoulder while they waited on Tei to finish briefing the unit and berating her underling.

_"I sent Miss Izayoi after her; she will be fine." _Tenshi didn't even look up. Iku sighed slightly and took her own seat; taking out a pen she began to fill out some forms while keeping an eye on the proceedings. Hopefully Medicine had been able to get Alice out of the area in time.

_"Thirty seconds to contact. You should begin to see the effects of Rumia's presence now." _Indeed, a sudden change in the air began to occur. It was subtle at first; then it began to rapidly pick up as the seconds passed by. Globules of blackness began to appear; they might have been camera malfunctions had the members of BIRD Division-2 not noticed the effects as well. The blackness began to connect together; little specks of darkness turned into puddles that soon engulfed the entire area. Tei switched the camera to night mode; they turned the camera and could now make out a figure approaching.

It appeared to be a normal girl. Blonde, with a red bow tied into her hair; wearing a black dress with pink sleeves. Her expression was normal; the expression one might have if very tired, eyes drooping and mouth agape. But what drew the eye was her forehead. Here, even in the darkness one could clearly see a symbol. A circle surrounded by three stubs that burned black and yellow and clear; despite the choking darkness about her the symbol burned bright and clear. Her eyes fixed on the camera. They rolled over the unit; who had quickly donned night-vision lenses and considered Rumia in turn. For a second, nothing occurred.

Then, with supernatural speed Rumia drew up to the division. For a second, time seemed to slow as she hovered on the periphery of the camera's vision, before a division member that couldn't have been more than sixteen. A single bullet at point blank range. The girl flew screaming, across the entire clearing until she landed with a sickening crunch against a tree. For a second more the remainder of the unit was too stunned to react. Then all hell broke loose.

Medicine shouted orders; none could be caught amidst the cries and screams of her comrades. They fired their emulators; either they missed by miles or hit but had no effect whatsoever on the Angel. Rumia zipped around with her insane speed; randomly striking members of the unit with her fist. Trees, the ground, even the house, it made no difference. They were all obviously dead upon landing; the camera caught the lolling of lifeless heads and copious blood in sickening detail. Fifteen left.

Tei on her part tried to rally the unit; but her cries couldn't be heard in the chaos of the battle. The darkness was so thick it clouded the camera and blurred their vision of the battlefield despite the night vision afforded to them. This had the eerie effect of amplifying Rumia's symbol; causing it to create a strange line effect across the camera as she moved extremely quickly back and forth thought the battlefield. Ten left.

Medicine was now firing, her gun shot extremely bright yellow bullets so they could clearly see the sweat on her face and bared teeth as she emptied her gun at Rumia. Uselessly as well, most of the shots missed and the few that hit did nothing to deter the Angel. The screams had died down, if only because there were so few left to scream. Five left.

On their part; the Defense Force seemed to see the writing on the wall. Tei was trembling; only barely keeping her hold on the microphone with her shaking fingers. Reisen had lost her lunch into the nearest trash bin. Still struggling to stay calm; Tei ordered a retreat of the remaining unit. Medicine complied and shouted at her women to withdraw. None could hear her, because none were left. One left; who quietly withdrew from the battlefield. Rumia was still whirling about the field; randomly blowing apart trees as her symbol continued to glower at the camera. For the finale she attacked the camera itself; vision flailing about wildly until the camera broke against the wall of the house.

The Gensokyo Defense Force stood in shock. Final read out from the camera was that the slaughter fest had taken all of thirty seconds. Thirty seconds, and one of the best divisions available- which they didn't even posses- had been utterly crushed. Tenshi has chuckling to herself as she watched. It was practically decided now. Much to Tenshi's irritation; Tei ordered their last resort that didn't involve BIRD- an Evil-Sealing Circle. A plane, which had been circling at low altitude over the battlefield the whole time; received the order.

_"Miss Inaba, are you sure of this? Miss Melancholy has had little time to get away from the impact zone." _Tei nodded stiffly; Reisen actually cried out at this but Tei forced a hand over her mouth. The bomb was dropped.

The explosion was impressive; a new video feed from the plane itself showed that the explosion had spread from Alice's house as ground zero to the forests edge and shorelines; a distance of roughly a kilometer. When the cloud of expanding reddish rings of energy dissipated; the darkness had been blown away and one could see that the trees had been pushed outwards, at the center they had actually been uprooted and tossed a fair distance away. Tei ordered a zoom-in on the impact zone.

Rumia was there. Her symbol had faded to a dull glower and her eyes had shut themselves; but she was otherwise unaffected. Tei slumped into her chair, slammed a fist into the control board. Tenshi wore a wide grin as she stood. For a second, she was tempted to mock Tei, give her comeuppance for cheeking her earlier. But then Tenshi decided against that. Instead she returned her face to it's usual scowl; called to Tei as she normally would.

_"I believe that it is up to BIRD now." _Tei slowly nodded; then turned once more to the screen, where darkness was already beginning to accumulate once more. _"Iku. Call Patchouli and tell her to __meet Miss Izayoi." _

_

* * *

_

They had managed to escape the blast. Sakuya had pushed Alice down to the ground in time and the worst that they had felt was a searing heat on their backs. When Sakuya pulled them both up again, she looked to where the rings of energy were still spiraling about the blast zone and raised an eyebrow in slight amazement.

_"Can't believe they actually used the Evil-Sealing Circle." _Sakuya shook her head slightly, turned to Alice as Alice shook dust from her dress. _"Are you alright Alice?" _Alice nodded gratefully; they continued down the pathway towards Human Town-3.

Alice had gotten to the edge of the Forest of Magic at noon and had managed to meet up with Miss Sakuya Izayoi. She was actually dressed like a maid in real life, had extensive skill with knives which she demonstrated by cutting off a sliver of Alice's hair without even grazing any skin, and had an extremely elegant voice that Alice found herself enthralled by. Sakuya was by all definition of the word a lady; proper and unquestionably gorgeous.

_"I highly doubt that they finished the job- those Angels are tough by all accounts we've got." _Alice hadn't known that the reason for her evacuation had been the attack of an Angel; she had felt somewhat sad when she realized that the blast had undoubtedly leveled her house. The feeling passed; and Alice found herself wondering if Medicine had survived.

_"Can people survive an Evil-Sealing Circle blast?" _Alice asked with a casual inflection to prevent Sakuya from giving her a less than accurate answer.

_"It's possible, if they're far enough or tough enough. Those Circles are pretty weak in actuality; its only that they're the best we have for now." _Alice nodded, somewhat reassured. From all that she had gathered of Medicine by speaking to her; the blonde was a tough nut who would wear down a little bomb with no problems.

Alice moved on to other matters and found what intrigued her most was that she was actually engaging in conversation. Having been shut up in her own little house in the forest for so long; she found it difficult to believe how easy and fun spontaneous conversing was. She and Sakuya had spent five minutes discussing Human Town-3; and what Alice thought would be a boring speech turned out to be an interesting analysis of the usefulness of Human Town-3 from a different perspective. Alice had never had a discussion of such import before.

_"So they built the Shrine Pyramid over the original shrine," _Alice continued their conversation as they drew close to the metal gate that marked the entrance to Human Town-3. She was impressed by the size of the city; it seemed to be packed to the brim with buildings and people of all descriptions; circling around the ever impressive pyramid. _"You mentioned something about an ulterior motive; what did you mean by that?"_

_ "Some people, not including me though I'm actually on the fence for this one; think that something of great importance was hidden in the Hakurei Shrine that they covered over with the Shrine Pyramid." _Sakuya grabbed lightly at Alice's wrist and indicated a small path leading off the beaten trail. _"Patchouli is amongst them." _They proceeded down the small path; behind a small mound and out of sight of the city.

_"Patchouli?" _Sakuya placed a palm on a section of rock where the path curiously terminated. She knocked at it several times; before nodding to herself. She pulled out a card as she addressed the question:

_"Our head scientist and my personal friend." _Sakuya flashed the card over the portion of rock that she had identified; with a low rumble the rock pulled aside to reveal a hidden passage leading into the earth. _"After you."_

Alice complied and stepped into the tunnel; with Sakuya following afterward. Alice was startled for a moment when the hidden door rolled shut behind them and drowned them in pitch blackness. But then artificial lights along the walls activated and lit their path once more. They descended down the tunnel; conversing more about Human Town-3 and BIRD; before they came to a door that impeded their way.

_"Sealed- we'll need clearance from the other side." _Sakuya knocked at the door once. Alice began to worry that they were now stuck; but Sakuya caught her concern and smiled. _"Don't worry; I'm sure they sent somebody after us." _They stood there for a minute or so in silence; Sakuya seemed to be thinking about something and Alice didn't want to disturb her. Eventually, their cavalry did arrive to open the door; in the form of a woman.

She seemed to be in her twenties, around Sakuya's age or only a year or two older. Her hair was purple; covered by a hat of a lighter purple shade that was decorated with little stars and moons. And she was in a swimsuit. A dark blue school swimsuit to be precise; with the name 'Patchouli Knowledge' printed on the white band across the chest. Sakuya actually face palmed upon seeing Patchouli; sighing between her fingers.

_"What the hell have you been involved in now Patchy?" _Patchouli smiled; glanced at Alice and nodded. Alice shrugged back, still somewhat disconcerted by the unwanted fanservice.

_"I was working on the Yin-Yang Orbs in one of the underwater cells when they called me to fetch you both." _She appraised Alice closely. _"Seems a bit thin- we'll be sure to get her some real food at some point or another. So you're the 1__st__ Children?"_

_ "Erm... you mean 'Child' don't you?" _Alice felt the need to interject here.

_"They're called 'Children'." _Sakuya shrugged at Alice when she raised an eyebrow skeptically. _"It's true; don't ask me why but both CAT and BIRD officials refer to the chosen as the 'Children'." _Patchouli nodded to confirm Sakuya's statement; the three of them began to walk once more, making their way to an elevator and boarding it as they spoke.

_"So what do you mean by chosen one?" _Alice looked to them for an answer.

_ "That you will learn soon," _Patchouli said cryptically.

_"Doesn't sound promising."_

_ "You'll get used to it- hopefully," _Sakuya tried to reassure Alice. _"It's an extremely important position." _She touched the knob for ground level; Alice inclined her head at the pair of them but remained unsure. They were silent for the rest of the journey; the ding of the elevator arriving resounded thought the cube as the doors opened. Alice stepped out into the room.

And she gasped. It was a massive cylinder of a room; the floor at their level with the sky visible vaguely from the ceiling through what appeared to be a skylight of some sort. In the center of the room was a greyish metal circle. Around it were three pedestals; with only one occupied. And on that pedestal, a doll. It was garbed in a black and pink dress, a razor clasped loosely into it's hands. It had a tiny, realistic face that almost perfectly emulated a human's. And it looked exactly like her. Alice looked at the doll; she felt as if a mirror image of her looked back. She approached it timidly; noticed a single red card with gold trim that the doll was resting on, along with a marionette controller.

_"And that, daughter is your weapon." _

Alice remained staring at the doll for several seconds. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. She turned around. And Tenshi was there. Blue hair, flamboyant dress and hat. Her mother. In the flesh.

_"... Mother..." _Alice was unsure what to feel now. She wanted to so something but she couldn't. She remained in place; staring at her mother and Tenshi staring back at her. Their gazes were locked together. Tenshi was unmoved.

Tenshi, who had arrived shortly after Alice; motioned for Patchouli and Sakuya to vanish, they nodded and hastily stepped into the elevator. Tenshi and Alice were now alone- mother and daughter alone in the room. Alice fidgeted: glanced around the room, at the doll, anywhere but her mother. Tenshi continued to coldly appraise her daughter. Finally, she spoke:

_"Your weapon. As a chosen 'Children' you are to use them against the Angels. It is called Shanghai; and it was built expressly for you." _Tenshi examined a nail, she seemed to be somewhat bored.

_"What...?" _

_ "You are a chosen 'Children'. You will use this weapon against the Angel Rumia. This is why I brought you here." _Tenshi didn't even seem to want to talk; her responses were short and even then they seemed forced.

_"What...?"_

Tenshi sighed with slight exasperation. _"I said-" _she began.

_"No." _Alice began. _"'What' is being used to express my incredulity. As in; how could you ask this of me?"_

_ "I see." _Tenshi continued to stare at her daughter, who's head was now fixated on the ground.

_"What as in; how could you expect this of me?"_

_ "Because the weapon was designed for-"_

Alice looked up at this; her face contorted into a furious expression, eyes wide and brows furrowed as she began to shout. _"No! As in, how the hell could you ask this of me when you've done your damned best to ignore me for eight years of my life?"_

_ "I've been busy-"_

_ "Yeah; but you can't spare any time for your only daughter?" _Alice continued to vent, she felt her blood boiling as she railed against her mother. And to make matters worse, her mother was still impassive; looking at Alice with a slightly bored expression on her face. _"You didn't leave me anything- you didn't tell me anything?And now you want something from me? I'm sorry- no, I'm not- that's unacceptable and I'm leaving now!" _Alice continued to glare at Tenshi as she began to move for the elevator.

_"So I take it then that you refuse?" _Tenshi kept her gaze even with Alice's; the anger seething from her daughter didn't seem to affect her in the slightest.

_"No, I don't refuse my dear mother." _Alice sarcastically replied. _"I can't believe you; I bet Dad died because you were such a prick-"_

_ "Do not," _Tenshi suddenly gained an edge to her voice; her pitch darkened and Alice actually took a step back, startled. _"Ever. Mention your father to me." _Her jaw was set; her eyes danced with repressed fury. Alice cocked her head and met the gaze with anger of her own. Mother and daughter remained locked in this standoff until Tenshi finally mastered her temper and turned away heavily. _"In that case, it seems that I have no choice." _From her pocket, Tenshi produced a version of the device that Alice had seen Medicine using earlier. She typed something out and closed it again. Alice tried to make for the door; but Tenshi used her body to block the elevator. Alice growled but remained in place.

The extremely awkward minute of silence that followed was finally broken by the ring of the elevator. Tenshi stepped aside as the doors slid open; something large was wheeled out. Alice lightly clapped her hand to her mouth. Two youkai medics were wheeling out a bed; and on it was a human. A brunette, with a red and white miko dress and large flowing sleeves separate from the rest of her clothing. And she was bleeding. Her arms and shoulders were heavily patched with bandages; soaked red in her own blood that was now seeping past the bandage and onto the bed. Her mouth was slightly agape, her eyes clouded over; she seemed to be only barely conscious.

_"Reimu Hakurei, 0__th__ Children and your only existing replacement." _Tenshi motioned to the bed-ridden girl with an arm; she lingered for a second on her extensive wounds. _"If you refuse, Reimu will be deployed in your place. Her weapon is not even ready yet; but that is the best we can do." _Alice gritted her teeth as she examined the injured girl. Her eyes met with Reimu's for a second; they didn't respond in anyways to the glance. Alice turned away, horrified by the sight.

_"So. Are you willing?" _Tenshi gave Alice a wide shrug for dramatic effect. _"The choice is entirely yours." _Alice bit her lip and turned to face Tenshi; giving her one glare before she responded:

_"You bitch."_

_

* * *

_

Alice now stood at the apex of the shield; Shanghai dangling on string from one hand with the card tucked neatly into it's mouth. The wind from this altitude caressed her face and whipped her hair up; the cool night air was crisp on her skin. For several minutes Alice stood there; considering what her next move would be, wondering why she was there to begin with. The unenviable condition of Reimu had gotten Alice to agree to fight Rumia.

They had equipped her, and launched her via the gray circle which was actually a form of catapult; past a metal ring hovering above directly above the exit point on the shield which had opened it for her to pass. Now she stood atop the shield; staring down from her vantage point at the entirety of Gensokyo. From this height she could discern the devastation left by the dropping of the Evil-Sealing Circle; marked by charred ground and the scattering of trees from ground zero. Rumia couldn't be seen; she was still only the size of a human despite her extreme power.

So Alice could stand here with her thoughts while she waited on the go from Sakuya. As it turned out, Sakuya was in charge of the defense of Human Town-3; and would give her instructions on how to proceed. They ran all sorts of tests on how she was responding to Shanghai; ran diagnostics on her own state. Alice was surprised that the diagnostic didn't read a spike in her blood pressure; she was still extremely peeved at her mother and had only agreed to do this for the sake of Reimu. Alice was actually surprised by her own outburst; she had never felt that the mother's questionable behavior had been an issue. Not until that point had she ever felt anger over it.

_"You there Alice?" _Sakuya sounded just as clear and elegant over microphone as she did in person. Alice nodded; having been told that they had a video feed on her and that she wouldn't need to say anything. _"Ok, you have five minutes with Shanghai; from the moment you activate it to kill Rumia." _

_"Why is that?" _Alice didn't have a microphone of her own but she figured that they could read her statements silently.

_"These things are built with more 'outside' technology than Gensokyo magic. Thus, we must keep them counterbalanced with injections of natural magic which can last for five minutes of action at best; a full day if you're doing nothing at all with the weapon."_

_ "And if I run out of time?" _Alice asked, already dreading the answer.

_"The object assumes it's natural form and returns to the 'outside'. You'll either be brought along with it or destroyed in the resulting outburst of energy."_

_ "How wonderful."_

_ "Are you ready?" _Alice nodded. Sakuya began shouting orders to the rest of the crew. _"Patchy, bring diagnostics to the front- we need to monitor her reactions. You, get that graph out of the way!" _Alice took a deep breath; she was still unsure about what she was about to do. But it was too late now; she had to see this through to the end.

_"Rumia sighted." _Alice glanced about herself, then spotted the Angel. The glow of the symbol could be seen from the dome; a vague twinkle down the Human Town footpath that was slowly approaching the shield. _"Alice, prepare to deploy." _Alice steeled herself; felt all her muscles ready to burst into action with the unusual feeling of anticipation. A second passed. Then, the command. _"Go."_

Alice sprung into action; quite literally she jumped like a coiled spring from her position and began to slide down the shield; aiming her body to Rumia's rough position. Sakuya had instructed her to think of what the doll should do as she did it; all of Alice's fears vanished in the excitement of the moment. She flew off of the surface of the shield and soared into the air; in her head she pictured the extension of the wire and the puppet using it's hands to slow her descent to a reasonable speed.

Shanghai almost immediately sprung into action. The screech normally reserved to metal striking other metal was now emitted by the puppet's fingers catching along the shield's surface. Alice felt herself slowing; soon she was descending the shield at a comfortable rate. Rumia was closer; she could make out the blonde girl- who seemed to have dropped her darkness shield with the coming of natural night. Her eyes were blank; her mouth lolling, her focus entirely on the city before her. Rumia wasn't expecting anything. Alice couldn't help but grin at the audacity and boldness of her actions; she imagined the doll pushing off the shield and sending them in an arc towards Rumia. And it happened.

As she soared through the air, Alice let loose a battle cry despite herself. Rumia looked up- a second too late. Shanghai slashed downwards; it's razor flashed once. With a quick adjustment Alice got Shanghai to push off the ground and cancel out her own momentum, bringing her to a standstill before the Angel. A large stab wound had been impaled right through the symbol. Alice heard cheering from those in the control room. She grinned herself; a strange mix of exhilaration and relief coursed through her body. Alice had met the enemy, the fabled Angel; and not only had she survived, her victory had been absolute. Sakuya was congratulating her; they would return to base and celebrate.

And then Rumia kicked her.

Despite the gaping wound in her head; Rumia simply looked up again, straight at Alice. Before Alice could react she met a shoe directly to her chest. For a second Alice was too confused to respond. And then reality caught up with her.

All at once things happened. Her vitals descended into critical condition; the celebration in the lab was cut short by frantic yells and scrambling. Alice felt her mind teetering on the edge of consciousness; she sailed through the air and crashed into a lamp post set into place by the foot path. It fell, she heard it fall onto something soft; heard a squeal of pain. But she was in too much pain to respond. She tried to move; tried to get Shanghai to move. Nothing happened. Rumia was approaching. There was shouting from Sakuya and Patchouli and everyone else that she could vaguely hear.

Now Rumia was standing over her. Alice's thoughts were fleeting now. A foot was raised, a foot dropped.

Alice was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

For those who wonder how the plot will play out; it won't be as depressing as NGE. It will most likely still be depressing however.

I wrote this whole chapter in one day- my quality may have slipped at some point,


	3. 20 Awaken in the Blinding Light

**Rebuild of Touhou**

**2.0: Awaken in the (Blinding) Light**

The scene was one of impressive chaos outside of Human Town-3. Just yesterday night an unknown person had engaged the Angel Rumia. It was morning now, and the inhabitants of Human Town-3 had awoken to find that they were still alive. Having spent most of the day cowering hidden in underground shelters; they emerged to find the morning sun still shone upon a completely intact city. The shield was still up; every house was as complete as it had been the day before when the call had been made to take shelter in the nearest bunker. Curious and concerned civilians streamed to the outside to survey the aftermath of the fateful battle.

On the scene, wreckage and rubble were strewn about like scattered marbles. The path had been gouged multiple times by something sharp; blood stained the path and grass in long streaks that stretched from a fallen light pole to a large crater that had been blasted into the ground beside the path. BIRD officials were already there; several stretchers were there with them. Four were covered with thick sheets; the fifth was being covered as the crowd began to congregate around the area.

_"Please, please step back." _Sakuya held her hands out to rebuff the crowd as it tried to inch closer to the stretchers for a look at their occupants. They had been there the whole night; trying to make sense of the chaos that had ensued and recover their assets before the public could figure anything out. The surly crowd milled about and tried to push against her; she held firm and kept them from getting too close. _"Patchy, can we clear out yet?"_

_ "If you're willing to leave the scene a wreck; then sure."_

_ "We can leave that to the daily workers- it's important that we get all of these casualties back to base before they get unstable." _The crowd grew more anxious at this; Sakuya now had to physically push people back from the stretchers as the crowd began to surge against her. _"Hurry up, before this crowd goes mad- hey!" _A flash under her shoulder; a short girl in a pink dress and cap with light blue hair had managed to duck under Sakuya's outstretched arm and was now running for the stretchers. _"Stop!"_

Remilia Scarlet ran for the stretchers because her sister had gone missing during the call to take shelter the previous night. Remilia had been five when her sister Flandre had been born; had been eight when their mother and father had taken notice of Flandre's inability to develop communication skills or connect with other children. Diagnostics taken by their doctors confirmed that Flandre had autism. Her distraught parents had few options during the panic of post-Impact Gensokyo; no programs for such a child existed in the turmoil of the day. They had kept her home; tried to provide for her special needs as best they could and live a peaceful life.

Remilia had memories of caring for Flandre while her parents tried to find steady work in the chaos of the day. Once one of the richest families in Gensokyo as the vampire possessors of the Scarlet Mansion, all these properties had been stripped from them by the disaster that was the Second Impact; they had been reduced to near-poverty and forced at times to scavenge for their own food. While her parents were out Remilia often did her best to care for her troubled sister; who often lashed out violently for no apparent reason at some times. They developed a close bond; Remilia began to see herself as Flandre's confidante and only friend; and as a result grew extremely protective of her younger sister.

By the time that Remilia hit the age of thirteen things were beginning to look up. The family had managed to stabilize itself financially once more; their father had a governmental job and they could put decent meals of actual fresh blood on the table once more. He received a promotion and they got a decent doctor for Flandre and she began to wrest her way from being in a state of crippling introversion to living life as a normal human being. Remilia was able to go to school; they got a homely condominium in Human Town-3. Like many at the time; the Scarlet family began to think that the worst was behind them.

And then an unforeseen disaster had struck. Remilia remembered it, clear as day; as having occurred just under a year ago, a month following her birthday in February. It had been an ordinary day by all accounts; her father was out and Flandre was in the kitchen making drawings. Remilia had been listening to music, as she always did while waiting for their mother to get home from her daily groceries. Nothing unusual in that; nor in the fact that Remilia had fallen asleep while waiting. Not unusual was that she had awaken six hours later. What was unusual was that their mother still wasn't there.

Flandre had been over the bed; eyes tearing as she shook her sister to wakefulness. She had shouted something about their mother; what exactly it was Remilia could never recall, it always played to fast for her to make out the words. They had run out: searched the house, alerted their father, alerted the authorities. Four hours of frantic search turned up nothing. For two days notices went up around the neighborhood. But their mother was never seen again.

The search had been called off. And nothing had ever been the same since. Their father was cold, distant; spent much on alcohol and often wasn't home. Flandre scared off her doctor; went back to her unsociable self. Remilia could only watch helplessly as her family life fell apart. She kept going to school but turned away all her old friends and remained shut up within herself; mourning her mother and reminiscing on old memories. Ironically the only thing she could think about her mother was that she missed her mother's cooking. She had always had a great hand and turning simple blood into all variety of delicious meals. Remilia couldn't remember any more. Or perhaps she didn't want to.

Seveal months later life had settled into a new routine. A law was passed that required all students of proper age to attend public school; so Remilia would struggle every day to force Flandre to attend their local elementary building. Eventually Flandre was able to grow comfortable and even made a friend or two; though she was still irate and prone to bursting into her old rages at home. Their father managed to get a hold of himself and went back to work; often coming home early to cook for the three and try to maintain a cheery attitude at home. Remilia made a friend at school in martial arts enthusiast Hong 'China' Meiling. And then life once more was back to normal.

So it was natural for Remilia to have been wrought by worry when not seeing her sister amongst those who had piled into the shelter closest into their house. Flandre was easily distracted; sometimes she could blithely ignore obvious danger if it wasn't obvious to her. The danger was broadcast with a relatively monotone and quiet alarm; Flandre could easily have discounted the warning and wandered off on her own. Remilia had spent a sleepless night pacing the shelter worrying over her younger sister. She reached the nearest stretcher; the one still being covered. She knocked away the paramedics and tossed the cover away.

Blonde hair with a round pink hat drawn tight by red bow over it. Red eyes; only common to a vampire. Red dress with pink sleeves. Colorful artificial wings affixed to her back which Remilia had made for her during her fifth birthday. It was Flandre alright. She was clearly unconscious; an arm was bent at an unnatural angle and her clothes were stained with blood. Remilia carefully sniffed at the stains. It was Flandre's own blood. Remilia dropped to her knees, gulped heavily and took deep breaths as she tried to remain collected. She had already lost one- she didn't want to lose another. One of the paramedics she had thrown aside timidly approached her; she whirled around on her and asked:

_"Flandre. Is Flandre going to be alright?" _She caught the paramedic's shoulders and rattled her slightly. The paramedic nodded hastily; Remilia breathed a sigh of relief. _"How is she? Why did this happen to my sister?"_

_ "Your sister had the misfortune to be caught outside when our forces engaged the Angel." _Sakuya had given up on keeping the crowd at bay and they now surged forth around the meido to survey the bodies for themselves. _"Start moving the bodies." _The paramedics saluted and began to wheel the stretchers away before the public could get a good look at any of the persons being treated. They moved the four covered bodies and were ready to move Flandre before Remilia put a firm hand on the stretcher and held it fast.

_"You still haven't elaborated."_

_ "Please," _Sakuya held up her hands as a gesture of peace. _"Your sister needs medical attention. A lamp post fell on her side- she has two cracked ribs and a broken arm- I'm sure you understand the urgency here." _Remilia relinquished Flandre and the paramedics began to move her into the city. Remilia looked after the stretcher for a second before turning back to Sakuya.

_"Tell me." _Remilia examined the girl's maid uniform; noted the tears and burns that indicated combat. She was obviously from some military unit; given that this was Human Town-3 it was more likely than not BIRD. _"Please. I know some stuff will be classified; but I have to know." _She clasped her hands together; bore her eyes deep into Sakuya's own. Sakuya blinked; nodded before breaking eye contact. She spoke with a heavy voice:

_"The battle, which must remain classified by BIRD protocol; nearly ended in disaster for our forces. We only barely survived; but one of our pilots was thrown against said lamp post and critically injured. It fell- I'm sure you can figure out the rest." _Remilia nodded slowly; Sakuya turned back to her and offered her an apologetic shrug. _"I'm sorry about this; rest assured that your sister will be given full treatment and should quickly recover."_

_ "Yeah..." _Remilia glanced around the ruined path where crowds were now examining the damages dealt in earnest. She glanced into the distance; hoping to catch a glimpse of Flandre. She saw nothing; the stretcher was already gone. _"And just who exactly would that pilot be?"_

_ "That I can't say."_

_

* * *

_

Alice awoke in a cold sweat. She bolted up and looked about her; eyes frenzied as she remembered the battle, half expecting to see Rumia still standing over her. There was nothing, nobody. The room was clean white; bare except for the bed that Alice had been laid into. Alice rubbed her eyes, checked again; still she found that she was alone and safe. She sighed; dropped back into her bed as sudden wariness overcame her.

She remained like that for a minute before figuring that it would be best to find out what exactly had happened after she had been knocked out. Alice pulled herself out of bed; rubbing her eyes, she made her way over to a window and pulled open it's drapes. Bright light streamed forth; Alice shut her eyes against their intensity and moved away, irritated by the pain. It was already morning; so Alice assumed that she must have spent the night in this hospital. She felt no pain; whoever had recovered her had done a thorough job. Alice made her way over to the room's door and made her exit.

The halls were sterile; devoid of life and lit with extremely bright synthetic lights. Alice made her way down the corridor; examining herself she noted that nobody had changed her clothes from the previous night. There were gashes and bloodstains; Alice wondered which of them were hers and which the Angels. She tried to recall what had happened the previous night; the appearance of a dull throbbing in her head told her that it was best left alone. She continued to move down the corridor until she came by an open door. As she passed it; idle curiosity made her chance a look into the room.

A girl was pulling herself out of bed. Alice stopped; noticing something familiar about her. Blonde hair; robotic expression. Alice suddenly remembered that this was the leader of BIRD Division-2; Medicine Melancholy; though she was wearing a nightgown instead of her standard battle garb. She hesitated for a second; then entered the room.

_"Miss Melancholy!" _Medicine looked up at the noise; Alice held a hand up in greeting. Medicine acknowledged the greeting with a nod and got to her feet. She crossed the room and extended a hand to Alice, who took it warmly. _"I'm glad to see that you are still well- I was concerned after I saw that bomb go off in the forest."_

_"I got away in time- I was only moderately injured." _Alice nodded as Medicine indicated her arms, where the skin was reddish and blistered. _"Second degree- they hurt like hell but I'm good otherwise." _Medicine made her way back to her bed where a small trunk had been set up; pulled out a set of clothes and gestured for Alice to close the door. Alice did so as Medicine began to change; still speaking, _"I should be back in action in two weeks- though I'll need to find a new bunch to lead around." _Alice gave Medicine a questioning look; Medicine nodded. _"My company was in the thick of that mess. I'm not yet sure; but I think they're all dead." _

Alice grimaced as she turned away to give Medicine privacy. _"How horrible."_

Medicine shrugged; removed her nightgown and began to dress. _"I was sort of expecting something like that. They were only human after all- versus an Angel it's no wonder they got thrashed." _She tied a red bow into her hair.

_"That's a bit pessimistic; don't you think?" _

_ "Not really, no. Humans aren't meant to do that kind of thing." _Medicine pulled a book from her trunk; tossed it to Alice who turned in time to catch it. Alice glanced at the cover; it was a paperback entitled 'The World as Will and Representation'. Alice looked at the book; glanced at Medicine, now fully dressed in a dark red blouse and lighter shaded skirt. Civilian clothing; which sort of surprised Alice.

_"What exactly is this thing about?"_

_ "The idea of human will. How the drive of a man leads him to live life as he does." _Medicine gestured for the book; Alice nodded and gave it back. As Medicine returned the book to it's place in her trunk; Alice suddenly realized something.

_"Miss Melancholy?" _Medicine grunted. _"Why do you keep referring to humans in the third person?" _Due to the power-loss that most youkai had suffered following Second Impact; even non-humans in Gensokyo now fell under the blanket term of humanity. _"Aren't you a human or youkai yourself?" _Medicine sighed, motioned for Alice to come closer. Alice did so; raised an eyebrow as Medicine began to remove the blouse that she had just finished putting on.

_"Miss Morichika; while what you are about to see is theoretically not a secret, I ask that you not tell anybody about it." _Alice nodded assuredly at Medicine; she pulled the blouse off. Alice gasped; eyes widening at the sight. A metallic band gleaned in the light; running down her back from the nape of her neck to her waist and presumably beyond. Smaller bands branched off from this strip; they wrapped around her from back to front, coolly glinting in the light of the room. Alice looked to Medicine for a conformation; she nodded. _"I refer to humans in the third person because I myself am not one. I am a machine- more accurately a doll; since I was actually developed as one of the prototypes for Shanghai. That was before they figured out that full sentience was a bad idea." _

_"So you were made by BIRD?" _Alice got as close an examination of the bands as she could without making it awkward. Medicine nodded; gestured with her hand for Alice to step away. Alice complied and Medicine redressed.

_"That's why I work for them; I was a failed version of Shanghai but at the same time I was to sentient for them to dispose of in good conscience." _Medicine began to make for the door of the ward with Alice following behind. _"Thus they kept me and made me into one of their solders." _Medicine held the door open for Alice; she stepped out and was followed by Medicine who quietly shut the door behind them. _"And that's my life's story." _Medicine smiled ruefully.

_"I'm sorry." _Alice offered the apology to Medicine.

_"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." _Medicine and Alice continued down the hospital corridor. _"I blame nobody but myself- unlike humans I'm willing to face the consequences of my actions. I could end it at anytime. I could jump off the Pyramid and that would be that." _They were at an elevator now; Medicine called it with the button and the doors slid open. Alice made to join her but Medicine shook her head; instead gesturing for Alice to continue following the corridor. _"But I don't. My will is too strong for me to die." _Medicine offered Alice a smile for a split second before the doors sealed.

Alice remained there for a second, unsure of what to do next. She then figured that it would be easiest to follow Medicine's instructions and made her way down the corridor. As she walked she reflected on what Medicine had said about her will. Medicine's monotone and usually unreadable expressions made it difficult for Alice to tell just how seriously Medicine was affected by her unusual condition. It was still troubling Alice when she entered the hospital lobby.

A large expanse of empty benches were arranged into rows in the room. There were several sets of elevators set into the wall opposite; a clock set into the wall above them read noon. Alice looked around the room; there was nobody there. Thinking that Medicine had probably wanted the elevator to herself; Alice made for the elevator bank. She was about to call for one when one of the elevators rung and the door slid open. Alice turned to see who had arrived; Tenshi stepped out.

Mother and daughter considered each other in silence. Alice shifted on her feet uncomfortably; she was still confused by her previous outburst. Tenshi crossed her arms; motioned with her head for Alice to sit down. Alice wearily approached the nearest bench and tentatively sat down; keeping an eye on Tenshi as she did so. Tenshi remained in place; arms crossed as she coldly considered Alice.

_"I've been sent to debrief you." _Alice inclined her head slightly; Tenshi continued. _"The battle with Angel Rumia did culminate in your victory at 2359 last night. You were moderately injured during the battle and recovered by BIRD for recuperation." _Tenshi sniffed. _"You are up; which means that you have made a full recovery."_

_ "I feel fine; thanks for asking," _Alice responded with a hint of dryness.

_"I didn't ask."_

_ "I noticed." _Alice held her eyes evenly with Tenshi's own; they remained deadlocked for several minutes before Alice eventually broke off. She continued in as neutral a tone as she could manage, _"Was anybody else hurt in the process?"_

_ "A civilian by the name of Flandre Scarlet. She suffered from multiple broken ribs and a broken arm and is still being treated." _Alice looked down slightly at this; hurting anybody besides the Angel had never been her intention. She had felt the innate power in Shanghai while wielding her; like crackling energy that made her fingers tremble at the marionette's controls. She prayed that this Flandre hadn't been hurt too severely. _"You managed to minimize civilian casualties despite the less than favorable circumstances." _

_"Minimize?" _The callous manner in which Tenshi talked about the commoners as if their lives meant nothing disturbed Alice. _"Nobody should have been hurt." _Alice looked up at Tenshi once more. _"So is that it then?"_

_ "No. We will need you for further operations; as the Angels seem to be bearing down on us in their entirety now that we have killed one of their number." _Alice sighed.

_"Sure enough," _Alice dryly responded as she began to pull herself up from her seat. _"So I'll be staying on BIRD premises I assume?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "Well then, lets go." _Tenshi cocked her head and raised her eyebrows in confusion; Alice pressed on. _"If I'm going to be staying at BIRD and working with you all then I'm going to be living with you, right?" _Tenshi shook her head:

_"I said nothing of the sort. I only said that you would be staying with BIRD- I did not mention anything about your living arrangements." _Now it was Alice's turn to be confused; she ran a hand through her hair and began to speak:

_"But I assumed that-"_

_ "Whatever your assumptions are; they are wrong." _Tenshi was already turning away; she had already called the elevator. _"I will not be dwelling with you; I have already made inquiries and we have determined that you will stay with Miss Sakuya Izayoi." _The elevator door rolled open; Tenshi stepped into it and hit the button for another floor. Alice remained there in silence up until the last second. As the elevator rung once more to confirm it's destination; Alice cried out:

_"Why?" _Their gazes met once more as the elevator door began to slide shut. Time seemed to slow as mother and daughter considered one another. Tenshi's response floated out just as the elevator door sealed shut.

_"Because I don't want to deal with you." _Tenshi was gone. Alice stood there; the sound of the elevator noisily rattling away faded out. Her blood was boiling once more; Alice clenched her fists and struggled to remain calm. _"Because I don't want to deal with you." _Tenshi's words echoed through her head; she tried to cast them from her mind to no avail. Her mother didn't care. They were finally reunited after many years and she didn't even give a damn. Alice gritted her teeth; weathered the desire to break something. She slumped into the nearest seat, taking deep breaths as she mastered her sudden temper.

_"So be it," _Alice whispered, for her own benefit more than anything else. _"I'll do this on my own then." _Alice considered leaving; for a second the thought of departing Human Town-3 and leaving all of it behind appealed to her. And then a different girl's words shot through her memory:

_"My will is too strong for me to die." _Medicine's own statement led Alice to reconsider. She could run away. Or she could stay here and deal with her problems. Alice sighed heavily; tapped lightly against the bench as she considered the proper course of action. After awhile; Alice slowly got up and called an elevator. She left for her destination.

* * *

The laboratories of BIRD were extensive; occupying a massive labyrinthine underground section of the Pyramid. They were fully equipped with the latest machinery available; banks of supercomputers served to control the entire facility and provide the raw power needed to make the science happen. Hundreds of humans and youkai were on site at all hours of the day; meticulously testing and retesting all variety of 'outside' technology being considered for development. From anything as mundane as artificial blood to supply the impoverished vampire population to the top secret BIRD projects such as Wadjet; it was all done here in the laboratories of Shrine Pyramid.

Yumemi Okazaki stood on a catwalk placed just above a large water tank occupying one of the laboratory levels. A redhead wearing a similarly colored dress and cape; she was the mysterious inhabitant of another dimension who had come to Gensokyo in the name of science shortly before the devastation of Second Impact. Now trapped in Gensokyo; Yumemei had rapidly adapted and carved a niche for herself as a technician; her ability to build complex machinery that most natives of Gensokyo didn't understand made her an important asset for BIRD. Yumemei bent to the surface of the water, face only inches from her own reflection. She peered into the depths of the tank for something.

And reeled back when Patchouli emerged from the water directly below her. Water splashed everywhere; Yumemi squealed as her clothes were dampened by the sprays of liquid. Patchouli smiled cruelly as best she could through her breather; climbed onto the catwalk as an outraged Yumemi told her off.

_"Now was that really necessary?" _Patchouli straightened out and pulled off her scuba equipment. _"You got me soaked; now how the hell am I supposed to walk around with my clothes in this condition?"_

_ "Don't ask me," _Patchouli casually responded as she began to walk away. Yumemi glared after Patchouli and began to trail her as she continued to rant:

_"Honestly Patchouli, you are sometimes so difficult; you know that right? I'm a reasonably nice person, I don't as much of you right?" _Patchouli shrugged noncommittally; they reached a stairwell wrapping around the tank and began to descend. _"What's that supposed to mean? I'm nothing but nice to you- you're the one who harasses me all the time!" _Patchouli sped up; Yumemi made after her. They eventually reached the base of the tank; where a rack had been set up and Patchouli's clothes hung. Patchouli took a towel from the rack and began to dry herself as Yumemi caught up. _"I mean; why do you feel the need to harass me so much?" _Yumemi froze; at this Patchouli drew close. Their faces were next to each other; Patchouli wore a thick, knowing smile:

_"Because it's fun. Isn't that obvious?" _Patchouli drew away again; Yumemi was somewhere between having a nosebleed or having a heart attack and was flushing. Patchouli dressed in silence; hung her school swimsuit to dry and proceeded onwards into the laboratory proper. Yumemi followed after her, still somewhat lightheaded. When she finally recovered; she coughed slightly and forced her voice to a polite monotone as she spoke:

_"So erm... what's the progress on the Yin-Yang Orbs?" _Patchouli turned at a bank of monitors; sat herself at the nearest one and observed the readout with a slight smile still playing at the edges of her mouth.

_"They are almost ready for usage. I would give it another week before the 0__th__ Children can operate it- though whether she does it up to her recovery rate; of course." _Patchouli indicated a data table displayed at one corner of the screen. _"Our upgrades did well; we moved operation time from five to six minutes." _Yumemi leaned over Patchouli and observed the effect for herself; murmuring in appreciation of the fact. _"I'm thinking that we should take the time to upgrade Shanghai with this as well." _

_ "It would be a useful addition to the weapon yes," _Yumemi agreed as she considered the rest of the readout. _"What about the Second? Shouldn't we tell the development team to add this upgrade as well?" _

_ "I was thinking that as well," _Patchouli rolled out a keyboard from the table and began to input something. _"I'll make a note to tell them the next time I'm over there."_

_ "What about the 2__nd__ Children? Have they already found her?" _

_ "I wouldn't know. That's more Sakuya's field than mine." _Patchouli yawned; rolled the keyboard back into place and shut off the monitor. She was wheeling her chair around to face Yumemi when she spotted something in the corner of her eye. She turned to get a better glance. _"And speak of the devil; there she is now." _

Sakuya was being led along to them by Chiyuri Kitashirakawa; Yumemi's fifteen year old blonde assistant dressed in a sailors uniform. Sakuya caught Patchouli's gaze and nodded. Chiyuri continued to lead Sakuya along until the four were in proximity; she tapped her employer on the shoulder and pointed Sakuya out to her when Yumemi turned to acknowledge her assistant.

_"Sakuya Izayoi has been looking for you madame." _Yumemi nodded in thanks; gestured for Chiyuri to leave them. Chiyuri complied and ran off; leaving the three women to talk amongst themselves.

_"I believe you had a question for Sakuya, Yumemi?" _Yumemi nodded and turned to Sakuya.

_"Yes, Miss Izayoi. I asked Patchouli here if she knew the status of the 2__nd__ Children." _Patchouli fiddled with her cap as Yumemi indicated her. _"She didn't; she told me that you would know, however."_

_ "I do." _Sakuya nodded at Yumemi; gestured for Patchouli to bring up another model on the screens. _"It's still confidential information; all I can say is that we have found the 2__nd__ Children and she is in training." _Yumemi nodded in thanks; Sakuya acknowledged the nod and pointed to the screen where the model of another weapon had been brought up. _"This will be her as of yet unnamed weapon." _Yumemi examined the model; the weapon took the shape of a simple straw broom.

_"I'm thinking of calling it the Broom of the System." _Patchouli examined the model with a careful eye. _"We have a ways to go on this one; but I think it won't be too long before we're done with it. And I'll be sure to get that upgrade onto this one before they finish it up." _Yumemi nodded; Sakuya raised an eyebrow in confusion. _"I added a minute to their operation time by changing the medium in which the magic supply is stored." _

_ "I see." _Sakuya nodded in comprehension. _"That's a nice feature you've added; it will help us greatly against the Angels."_

_ "Speaking of the Angels; Sakuya, you were the one who volunteered to take in the 0__th__ Children since she's staying on site now?" _Patchouli kept her back to Sakuya as she asked; pulling out the keyboard once more and making minute corrections to the depicted model.

_ "Yeah," _Sakuya looked at her wristwatch; it read one in the evening. _"Tenshi herself was sent to debrief Alice and give her the living arrangements."_

_ "Hm." _Patchouli added her upgrade to the model and examined the results. _"I didn't think Tenshi would bother herself with matters such as that. Did you see Alice's diagnostic before the battle with Rumia? She was peeved at something and I don't think it was the upcoming battle." _Patchouli murmured to herself; adjusted some values while still speaking. _"Tenshi and Alice seem to have some issues between themselves; which might explain why Tenshi refused to take Alice in herself." _Sakuya nodded; she had been thinking the same thing:

_"Yeah. Well, I'll just try my best to give Alice a good home- especially seeing as how it's indirectly our fault that her actual home has been destroyed." _Patchouli and Yumemi chuckled at this. _"Being a teenager is always a tumultuous time after all."_

_"We've all been there, yes." _Yumemi spoke up now. _"Technically, in terms of Gensokyo time I'm actually still there; but of course I've long passed that within my biologic clock." _Patchouli turned off the computer and turned to face Sakuya. As she did a distant elevator opened and Chiyuri stepped from it; leading Alice towards them. Patchouli motioned to her peers; when they questioned her she silently pointed out the approaching girls, who had already closed the gap by that time.

_"This girl's looking for Miss Izayoi," _Chiyuri indicated Alice as she said this. Sakuya nodded and then smiled at Alice; who returned the gesture warmly.

_"Miss Izayoi!"_

_ "Please, you live under my roof now. Call me Sakuya." _Alice nodded and Sakuya smiled warmly at her. _"I'm glad you're alright; you gave the lot of us quite a scare during that battle with Rumia yesterday." _

_ "About that," _Alice interjected. _"What exactly happened yesterday?" _Sakuya shook her head; glanced at her wristwatch and pointed out the nearest elevator.

_"We need to get going- I have field matters to attend to and we have to get you settled at home." _Sakuya started for the elevator; Alice following close behind. Chiyuri started towards the elevator to open it for their sake; Patchouli and Yumemi watched the lot of them draw away.

_"Do you think Sakuya will be able to deal with her Patchouli?" _Patchouli shrugged; still watching them walking away.

_"That remains to be seen. A person is always on their best behavior immediately upon meeting a stranger." _Patchouli stood; nodded towards the elevators which they had already disappeared through. It was her unspoken manner of inviting Yumemi out to drink; Yumemi started towards the elevators to show her agreement. _"Their true self will not see the light until they are intimately comfortable with the other." _Patchouli followed in Yumemi's wake.

Yumemi spoke as they walked, _"Patchouli, I have a question." _Patchouli murmured something in response. _"Why are all the women of Gensokyo prone to unnecessary philosophical musing and metaphor?" _Patchouli chuckled in response to this.

_ "Anyone born before Second Impact is used to a lazy, carefree life where they had the time for deep and useless analysis of the meaning of life and the universe." _They reached the elevator; Patchouli touched the button to call it forth. _"We're just taking up their tendencies- albeit with less of that carefree nature."_

_

* * *

_

Sakuya and Alice arrived home at 9:00; give or take. Alice had originally been exited by the prospect of following Sakuya around on the job; but found that most of Sakuya's 'field work' was going from place to place and signing documents. Following a relatively boring period of waiting outside doors for Sakuya to emerge and bring them to their next destination, which had taken up until nightfall; they had picked up food from a nearby market and proceeded to Sakuya's condominium; on the fourth floor of a modern block.

As they had traveled Alice had noted how easy it was for Sakuya to talk to people she was sure were complete strangers to both of them. She would pull up to them; ask for directions or even just engage them in idle conversation. Alice could only manage a timid 'hello' to them while Sakuya chatted them up as if it were nothing. Alice supposed that it was something you learned naturally when living in the city; and wondered if she would end up like that at some point in the future. She was still fixated on that up to the point when Sakuya had the key to the house ready- it had been a very long internal monologue- and had opened the door.

Alice was pleased and somewhat awestruck by the interior. Though a bit bare, it was thoughtfully done; with light colors, cream walls and birch furniture. A kotatsu table covered with a purely white sheet sat dormant in the center of the room. A mini-fridge sat in a corner. There were two sliding doors; Alice assumed that one was the bedroom and the other the bathroom. Sakuya was seemingly reading Alice's mind; for she said after placing their food on top of the fridge:

_"Yes, I only have a one bedroom condo. I didn't expect to be getting a new inhabitant; sorry." _Sakuya motioned to the closer of the two doors. _"You'll be sleeping in there; I've got a spare futon that I can use to sleep in here." _Alice shook her head; reflexively she declined the offer:

_"Oh no Miss Izayoi; I couldn't do that to you." _Alice motioned to a random corner of the room. _"I'll take the futon; you can sleep in the room-"_

_ "Please Alice, call me by my first name," _Sakuya interjected. _"And I'm going to insist that you take the bedroom." _Alice started to protest; Sakuya continued over her, _"Because I go to work early, it would be more convenient for both of us if I was in this room so I could leave without waking up either of us." _Alice quieted at this; finding no logical reason to argue anymore, she merely nodded in thanks. Sakuya acknowledged the nod with a warm smile. _"Lets get ready for bed now then."_

_"Bed?" _Sakuya motioned Alice towards the bathroom; she remained still. _"But didn't you promise to tell me what happened yesterday?"_

_"I'm sorry Sakuya, but I need to get some rest. I was up all last night and I have a conference at 5:00 tomorrow."_ Sakuya yawned at this; with a firm hand pulled Alice towards the bathroom. She deposited Alice at the door; Alice opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it and simply did as she was told.

After they had had both taken a hot shower and readied for bed, Alice found it hard to sleep. Sakuya had drifted off to sleep moments after laying on the futon; Alice on the other hand remained awake for some time after plopping down in her new bed. An unfamiliar ceiling. Alice remembered the portrait of her father; realized that it would have been destroyed in the detonation of the Evil-Sealing Circle. Alice was saddened by this; though she could recall her father's features by memory now, the portrait had significance to her. It was the only relic that held any portion of her father; with it gone it was if he had been erased from all of Gensokyo. With this depressing thought; Alice continued to stare at the unfamiliar ceiling. Her thoughts drifted about. Unfamiliar ceiling to her father. Her father to the unfamiliar ceiling.

Both gave way to the Beast.

Rumia stood once again; foot raised as she had the previous night. Alice wondered where she was; she then looked carefully and saw that Rumia was standing in her menacing position over Alice. Alice could only watch confused; as Rumia threatened to kill her. Or was it really her? Alice wondered where the her observing the battle was; she looked around. Sakuya and Patchouli were there; along with many unfamiliar faces. They seemed to be in a 'control room' of sorts; where the lot of them were watching the battle unfold, horror-struck as they were watching what would have been Alice's apparent impending demise. Nobody noticed the observer Alice; she assumed that they probably couldn't. She turned back to the screen.

_"We've got to get somebody out there!" _Sakuya slammed a fist onto the console before her; voice cracking with shrill concern.

_"We can't, we can't!" _Patchouli shook her head; looked helplessly from readout to console to video feed. _"There's nothing we can do." _Sakuya was aghast; she turned slowly to the feed:

_"So... so we can't do anything-" _Rumia's foot was descending. The congregation could only watch in silent horror.

And then another foot descended. One of the younger girls screamed; assuming that Alice had been killed. The rest were only stunned by what they saw. Something had come to Alice's rescue. Shanghai hovered in the air; leg extended with foot holding Rumia's in place. The marionette's controls were still. The master of the marionette was unconscious. But Shanghai was still moving. Mouth was agape; eyes focused with a supernatural intensity onto the Angel. Shanghai was just a doll; but somehow it's face still projected the appearance of bestial rage. The Alice observing the scene actually took a step back, startled; she noticed then that the readout reading 'energy remaining' had vanished.

Rumia was unperturbed; extended a palm at Alice and fired a bullet. Shanghai twisted in place; a quick extension of it's own hand batted the pellet of glowing energy away from it's master where it diffused safely into the ground. Rumia growled; fired several more bullets. None hit their mark; Shanghai responded with a slash of it's blade. Rumia grunted; was sent staggering with a nasty strike across her face. Shanghai's foot now free; it proceeded to engage Rumia in earnest. Rumia could only retreat under the fury of the puppet; despite the size difference, Shanghai fought in such a frenzy that most of it's strikes couldn't even be seen- they moved too quickly to be picked up by the observing camera.

Shanghai's blade flew wildly; it struck the ground several times and left deep gouges carved into the path and surroundings. Rumia was wounded several more times; her clothes were gashed and blood flew freely onto the ground. Rumia upped the intensity of it's own attacks; managed to knock back Shanghai several times with bullets or punches- but the doll kept on attacking with it's inhuman tenacity. Rumia was bludgeoned by the hilt of Shanghai's razor; forced to drop to both knees before the doll. Shanghai was about to deal the final blow; when Rumia suddenly cried out.

It was an inhuman cry; prolonged in intensity and with an echoing effect. The nuclear symbol om her forehead grew with extreme intensity; Alice had to turn away and could only hear what happened next:

_"The Angel... it's activating a spell card!" _Patchouli said this; seemingly shocked out of her stunned silence by the event. _"This is incredible- I've never seen one pushed to this extent before!" _Though admittedly; she had never seen an Angel up to this point anyways. Alice chanced turning back; the light had faded away to a more manageable level.

From it's sleeve the Angel pulled a red card with gold trim; similar to the one that Alice had carried with Shanghai. It glowered in the darkness; emitting a malicious aura that bled away into the night. Rumia held it out; right in Shanghai's face. Shanghai ignored the card and tried to slash downwards. And she was met with a flurry of bullets to the face. The screen flashed red; the words 'Night Sign: Night Bird' flashed across the screen of the control room. Rumia zipped back and forth with her prior inhuman speed; throwing waves of bullets that intermingled and crisscrossed the battlefield. Shanghai tried to dodge; to no avail as it was thrown about by the impact of bullets.

The observing Alice thought that there was no way that Shanghai could survive the hail of bullets; remembered that she hadn't seen Shanghai since the battle yesterday. Perhaps Shanghai was actually destroyed; and somebody else was the one who rescued her? But then something happened to render Alice's hypothesis completely wrong. A stray bullet was speeding towards Alice. Shanghai forced itself in front of Alice; presumably to take the impact for her. But then it did something unexpected; it took the spell card that was still on Alice's person. And then that spell card began to glow.

_"Shanghai- it's- it's activating the spell card!" _Patchouli was pulling up sensors; seemingly unable to believe what was happening before her. They picked up the name of this one; 'Curse Eerily Luminous Shanghai Dolls' flashed over the alert of 'Night Bird'. Shanghai took a hold of Alice's discarded marionette's controls. It held them out before the field of bullets Rumia continued to fire. And for a second, nothing happened. But then each individual string came to life; writhing and coiling as if alive. Creatures began to spawn at the end of each string; small at first but then growing in size until they were each as large as Shanghai itself. Replica's; many of them in all different colors of the rainbow.

They flew about the battlefield; cutting through the bullets like knives through tissue paper. Rumia jumped; trying to get a last shot in at Alice. Shanghai replicas took a hold of Rumia's arms before she could fire; she tried to writhe out of their grasps. Before she could; more Shanghai replicas came up and impaled her indiscriminately with their razors. Rumia was flailing through the air now; bleeding from multiple stab wounds and being forced along by the replicas. For a finale the group plummeted to the Earth; with a deafening crash they slammed into the earth. Dust and dirt were kicked up; obscuring the camera.

When it finally cleared; the feed caught Rumia. She was in the middle of a crater; slowly being obscured by a rapidly growing pool of her own blood. Her symbol had faded away. On screen a diagnostic popped up; the Angel was read as 'deceased'. Shanghai had collapsed to the ground; face once again blank and inert. It's face haunted the observing Alice; the remainder of her sleep was filled with broken bodies and the eerie visage of her supposed 'doll'.

Alice eventually woke in another cold sweat. Morning filtered in through an open window. The light hurt in her eyes; but Alice was actually glad for it. The light banished her nightmares away; replaced them with comforting reality.

When Sakuya returned later that day; Alice finally questioned her about the previous night. Everything Sakuya said matched perfectly with Alice's dream.

* * *

**Is anybody actually reading this?**


	4. 30 A Bitter Slice of Life

**Rebuild of Touhou**

**3.0: A (Bitter) Slice of Life**

The largest change that Alice noted was how she never had to clean anymore. Sakuya always seemed to be one step ahead of her; Alice would always awaken to find the house spotless, even if Sakuya had been apparently sleeping the whole night. Alice wondered if this had anything to do with the maid's uniform- perhaps Sakuya had been formally employed as a cleaning lady once before and maintained those habits up to her current position. Alice found it disconcerting at first; but eventually grew to like the free time it afforded her. She had much free time; nothing of significance had occurred since the duel with Rumia. So Alice spent most of her idle time watching television; something she had lacked in her old home.

The TV now blared in the background while Alice prepared dinner for Sakuya and herself. She turned on the stove in one corner of the main room, poured broth into a large pot; the only pot that Alice could find in the house.

_"The one who carried out that murder might be someone who faked their own death by using a fake corpse." _Alice groped about the side of the stove and came up with a clean cutting knife. She cut up a day's worth of vegetables and meat and slid everything into the stew. _"They pointed them in a clockwise manner and blasted each others faces at the same time!" _Alice set the lid onto her concoction and turned to the TV while she waited for the food to cook. _"After that, Maria grabbed the guns and hid them!"_

_ "I wonder if anybody here watches this series?" _Sakuya had little interest in television; and was gone for most of the day anyways. Alice had yet to see other children of her age; though admittedly she was not going to find them if she stayed around the house all day. Alice was considering asking Sakuya for permission to go outside of the house in her spare time when the lock clicked. Sakuya stepped through the door; bearing a thick manilla envelope. _"Miss Izayoi, you're home surprisingly early."_

_"Yes, I've been spending the past few days trying to sort out our situation with you." _

_ "Really? Is that what this has all been about?" _Alice bowed her head; slightly worried as she apologized, _"I'm sorry if I've been a bother to you Miss Izayoi-"_

_ "-Sakuya." _The BIRD agent interrupted with slight exasperation. Her tone mellowed as she spoke further, _"No need to apologize, I couldn't keep you if I didn't go. And I would rather have you stay." _Alice looked up and smiled appreciatively. _"Of course; I've grown fond of you as well you know. Anyways Alice, your stay here will be smooth; but you must agree to several conditions." _Sakuya seated herself on the kotatsu and gestured for Alice to follow suit. Alice did so, and Sakuya placed the packet before her. _"These are forms you'll need to sign."_

_ "Of course." _Alice pulled the papers out of the envelope and began to look through them as Sakuya spoke:

_"Liability forms, all that standard affair," _Sakuya flatly said as she pointed out a thick portion of the stack. _"Just sign where it asks for you; otherwise leave it to me." _Alice inclined her head and began to flick through the papers; occasionally scribbling down her name when it was indicated that she needed to do so. _"We also discussed a curfew; you can wander off on your own but you have to be __back by nine and be present at the Shrine Pyramid whenever we need you for testing. Obviously, you'll also need to be attending school." _Alice didn't immediately respond; rather finishing the stack and setting it aside before responding:

_ "School?" _Alice had never attended school in her life- everything she knew was sourced from the extensive library that her home had once possessed. Alice assumed that such measures were enough; she hadn't ever planed on joining BIRD. Now Alice wondered what school would be like. _"Is that mandatory then?" _Sakuya nodded. _"Why was I let off-"_

_ "Your mother didn't add you to our official register," _Sakuya admitted. _"Don't ask me why; I don't know." _Alice hesitated for a moment; then shrugged. Tenshi was the least of her worries at this point.

_"So what exactly is school supposed to be like?"_

_ "It depends on how well you absorb knowledge. But between us," _Sakuya leaned in and whispered in a mock confidential tone, _"The real reason you go is to make friends with others like you. I met Patchouli and Yumemi in high school." _Alice murmured in surprise. _"And I believe that Iku was Tenshi's university teacher- though why they every befriended one another is beyond me." _Alice grinned at this, Sakuya chuckled slightly. _"School is worth it for that reason alone; believe me."_

_ "Of course, Miss Izayoi." _Sakuya nodded; before she caught a whiff of something. She inhaled deeply and noted the smell of a thick broth boiling. _"I think dinner is ready." _They ate; talked over a tentative schedule of times Alice would be needed on site at the Shine Pyramid. The first would be the next day, immediately following her first day of school. Alice went to sleep that night with butterflies fluttering their way through her stomach.

When she awoke the next morning Alice was still nervous about how schooling would play out. Sakuya had left early; so she was to prepare and head out on her own. They didn't have the time to purchase any school supplies; Alice would explain that to her teacher today and pick them up on her way home. Alice bathed, dressed herself in her standard garb; the school hadn't the resources for a school uniform. At 8 exactly she exited the house; closed the door and locked it behind her with Sakuya's spare key. Then she set off.

The school was a significant distance away, at the base of the Shrine Pyramid; so Alice had a significant portion of the city to pass. As she walked she noted how quiet and empty the city seemed in the mornings. Alice assumed it had something to do with most of the workers being in Human Town-2; but it was still disconcerting to see the markets and storefronts deserted, awaiting the night for they would finally open to the returning workers and nightlife. The streets were deserted; the walkways silent. After half an hour of walking, Alice finally drew close to the school; noting how she could hear noise once more. Laughter and general commotion. Hakurei High School.

It was a surprisingly small building for servicing the entire town; only one story and not even a block wide. A crowd of girls, most taller and more imposing than her; streamed into the building, talking amongst themselves. Alice glanced at herself; she had never realized just how petite she was for her age. Trying to look inconspicuous, bowing her head to effect; she joined the stream of students pouring into the building. A few glanced at her; most just walked past without a notice. So far, so good.

Alice had neared the main door when somebody finally called out to her. She hesitated; waited. The voice, loud and boisterous; called again. Alice slowly turned to appraise the girl trying to catch her attention. She had thick hair of some shade of red; a green dress and a military beret. Beside her was a blue haired girl in a pink dress and cap shaded by a parasol. She had unusually large wings protruding from her back; a vampire then. Alice blinked; the redhead nodded to her.

_"Hey! Are you new?" _Alice gave a curt nod. _"Alright then! The name's Hong Meiling; I go by China through." _Alice dodged around a group of rowdy girls between them and drew up next to the two reaching out to her. _"This one next to me is Remilia Scarlet." _Alice nodded at Remilia; she grunted in response. _"Sorry about her; she's a bit pissed due to some recent family troubles." _

_"A bit pissed about my sister getting hospitalized; yeah I think I would be..." _Remilia muttured under her breath. Hong tutted slightly and shook her head at the vampiress.

_"Hey now, we're trying to be hospitable to the new girl!" _Remilia shrugged and began to walk into the building without a word. Hong looked after her for a moment before apologizing to Alice, _"She's not normally like this. Just all worked up over the injury of her little sister during that whole debacle last week." _Alice solemnly nodded; Hong echoed the sentiment. _"Bad business that; but it's best to not talk about it. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name?"_

_ "Alice Morichika, Miss Meiling."_

_ "Feel free to call me China, Alice." _The deep tone of an alarm sounded, klaxon-like; behind them. _"Oh! There's the bell- come on Alice; or we'll be late!" _Alice nodded and before she could do anything else; Hong took a grasp of her arm and began to run Alice through the halls. Alice dully noted that Hong had a pretty strong grip for someone of her age. _"Are you in eighth grade?" _Alice grunted in affirmation. _"Then you're with us!" _Hong and Alice turned a corner and burst into the nearest door. _"Miss __Kamishirasawa__, sorry we're la-" _And then the rest of her sentence was cut short by the head of an airborne white haired teacher. She had seemingly been expecting them; and had deigned to headbutt Hong the moment she entered. The teacher alighted lightly and stood over Hong; stern visage focused fully onto the pair of them.

_"Miss Meiling, I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the punishment for tardiness to my classroom?" _Hong feebly groaned. _"And- well, hello!" _Kamishirasawa had finally noticed Alice. _"Are you a new student?" _Alice nodded timidly. _"Well hello then! I am Keine Kamishirasawa; I'll be your teacher for this year!" _Keine motioned for Alice to come forward; she took a tentative step over the still stirring Hong and found herself face to face with the teacher. _"Consider that display your warning," _Miss Kamishirasawa muttered ominously. Her voice lightened considerably as she stepped aside, _"Well then, step in. Go on, don't be shy!" _Alice helped Hong to her feet and they stepped past Keine and into the classroom.

The room was small; thirty or so students had been packed with some degree of crowding into the space available. The walls were bare; the desks plain. Everyone's head turned to consider Alice at once; Alice shied away from their gazes and slid into the nearest unoccupied desk. Hong nodded at her before taking her desk; Alice grimaced slightly when she realized that she had picked a seat on the opposite side of the room from Hong. Hong seated herself next to Remilia; caught Alice's eye and silently mouthed:

_"She can't take the sun, being a vampire and all." _Hong shrugged apologetically; Alice nodded. She had chosen a window seat and the sun warmed her side even as she realized the implications of her choice. Miss Kamishirasawa shut the door; then took her place in the front of the classroom.

_"My only formal announcement is that BIRD is looking for interns in it's training programs. But I'm sure that anyone who wants to be in BIRD has already taken care of that long in advance." _A few students murmured in response. _"Of more immediate concern is that we have a new student! Miss, would you feel free to approach the front of the classroom?" _Alice motioned to herself; Keine nodded. Alice inclined her head and pulled herself from her seat. As she shuffled to the front of the class she felt the weight of the student's stares upon her once more. When she reached the front Keine gestured. _"Then go ahead and tell us about yourself."_

_ "Erm..." _Alice bit her lip; she couldn't think of anything to tell her peers. _"My name is Alice Morichika..." _Alice searched for something else to say; she still couldn't come up with anything. The seconds passed slowly; Alice became aware of a bead of sweat that was working it's way down the nape of her neck. She shifted about uncomfortably; opened her mouth then shut it again. Keine silently watched her for a minute before intervening:

_"Well, if that's all Miss Morichika-"_

_ "I have a question, if you don't mind Miss Kamishirasawa." _Alice perked up at that voice; something about it was familiar.

_"Miss Melancholy? Well, go ahead then." _Alice raised her eyebrows at this. Medicine was attending this school? A quick survey of the crowd of students affirmed the thought; Medicine was sitting amongst the back rock in her civilian clothing. Her hand was raised, her eyes staring directly at Alice. Their gazes met; Alice mouthed a thanks for the quick thinking, Medicine gave a curt nod before continuing:

_"This is a rumor I heard around town yesterday; is it true that you have something to do with BIRD?" _The students suddenly began to pay attention at this. Remilia, who had been nodding off at her seat; suddenly looked up when she heard 'BIRD'. Alice nodded slightly; the crowd of assembled students began to whisper among themselves. Alice looked to Medicine for permission to go further; Medicine shrugged.

_"Yes, well." _Alice tried to think of a way to say what she was without coming off as conceited. _"I operate Shanghai- though I'm still new at it." _The congregation of students erupted at this; eyebrows raised, questions were asked. Alice soon found herself amongst a deluge of students trying to talk to her. Questions pelted her from left and right:

_"How does it feel?"_

_ "Is it difficult? Do you need to be smart or something like that?"_

_ "So you were the one who got your ass kicked last week?"_

Alice was wonderfully surprised by the sudden interest that her position garnered her. Being sure to give thanks where it was due, Alice craned her head over the crowd of students and just barely managed to catch a glimpse of Medicine. She waited for the doll to notice; when she did Alice gave her a thumbs up from over the heads of the crowd. Medicine smiled deviously and turned away once more. With that done, Alice began to eargerly answer the questions being sent at her.

_"Who would have guessed that Alice was the pilot? Eh, Remilia?" _Hong crossed her arms and considered the scene with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. _"I'm sure she'll never want for a friend now- Remilia?" _Hong turned to Remilia; who had been silently glaring at Alice since the announcement of her being a pilot. _"Remilia?" _Hong snapped a finger in Remilia's face. Remilia suddenly glanced at Hong; gave her a curt nod before turning back to Alice. Hong's tone grew serious as it dawned upon her, _"Remilia, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking; are you?" _

_ "Oh no China. I'm just thinking that we invite Alice outside for lunch..."_

_

* * *

_

Gensokyo stretched before her in it's full beauty from the heights of Youkai Mountain. Second Impact had not taken away the lushness of the land; the beautiful diversity that clashed magnificently and created a maelstrom of color that Tenshi found simply breathtaking. Tenshi closed her eyes slightly; felt the caress of a cool mountain breeze on her arm. She remembered back when she had been a Celestial; how such pleasures had come to her without thought. It still surprised her when she realized that she treasured such things that she would have once given no second thought. And then her ruminations were interrupted by a loud crash behind her. Tenshi turned to the source of the din; irritated, and shouted:

_"I was having a moment; and I'd like to thank whoever was so kind as to ruin it for me!" _The workers payed her little heed; if they could hear her through their hard hats, anyways. They were busily picking through the ruins of what had once been a shrine; intent on finding something of great importance to BIRD. Tenshi tutted to herself and turned to consider the sight once more. And turned straight into Rinnosuke.

_"I apologize for that Tenshi. You can leave now if you wish." _Rinnosuke smiled warmly; Tenshi flushed and muttered a decline. It had been four years give or take since the day the two of them had met in the Scarlet Mansion. Tenshi was still mystified by her falling head over heels for the director of BIRD; though to her credit she had managed to play it relatively cool and had slowly worked her way into Rinnosuke's confidence. They were tentatively dating now; though they had yet to tell anybody and largely kept up the guise of having a cordial friendship in the office. Only Iku was close enough to either of them to figure it out; she treated the affair with neutrality.

_"It is beautiful; isn't it?" _Tenshi indicated the vista.

_"Of course. Many things in this world are beautiful; including you of course." _Tenshi chuckled at this, playfully struck Rinnosuke in the side as she cheerfully retorted:

_"Cheesy line if I ever heard one. That was your just punishment." _Tenshi sighed and looked once more into the distance. _"It's ironic really; I enjoy stuff like this more ever since Second Impact hit- even though I have less time to do so."_

_ "Dangerous times bring out traits you never imagined you possessed." _Rinnosuke also turned to face the landscape that unfolded before them. _"Iku tells me that you were a pretty big jerk before we met." _Tenshi scowled at this, darkly muttered under her breath:

_"I'm going to kill Miss Nagae when we get back to base." _Rinnosuke laughed heartily; put a hand on Tenshi's shoulder. They remained silent in that position for a while, contemplating the beautiful sight. Finally Rinnosuke broke the contact and turned back to the site where they were still picking through the shrine rubble.

_"I think we should get over there and find out their progress so far." _Tenshi nodded slowly; she was still mellowed from the moment that they had shared. They approached the site; moving at a leisurely pace and chatting as they did so. Rinnsouke idly inquired of Tenshi, _"You mentioned earlier that you lived on this mountain before; correct?"_

_"Yeah, back when I was a Celestial. Our own parcel of heaven was Bhava-Agra; and yes I was a bit of a prick during those days." _Tenshi closed her eyes; trying to remember. _"Miss Nagae would visit me from time to time and teach me stuff; or try to anyways, since I kept ignoring her and doing my own thing until I eventually warmed up to her." _Tenshi smiled as she recalled more. _"Miss Nagae was always pissed off at me back then; I think the only reason she put up with me was because she was on good terms with my far more amicable parents." _Rinnosuke grinned as they continued to walk onwards. _"So what about you- you owned a shop or something similar, right?" _

_ "My own little shop of curios supplied with stuff from the outside." _Tenshi nodded; suddenly spoke up when she realized something:

_"I suppose that would explain why you know so much about outside technology and how to make it work in our world?" _Rinnosuke nodded, began with a bit of a swagger:

_"None of you guys would know what you're doing if it weren't for me. Not trying to sound like a braggart there but well..." _Rinnosuke paused; looked for the right words. _"It's true." _They both chuckled at this. _"Only other person with enough knowledge to compete with me is Rikako; which is why I assigned her as our head scientist." _

_ "How is Miss Asakura; anyways?" _Rikako mostly worked from home nowadays; with her child of four years to deal with. _"From what I've heard; both the child and herself are doing well." _Rinnosuke nodded and elaborated:

_"Yes, she decided on the name of 'Patchouli Knowledge'. The child is already showing fast learning and developmental skills for her age; though she also seems to be a bit sickly." _Tenshi groaned in sympathy. _"Yes, it's quite unfortunate but there isn't much we can do. Rikako said that once the child is old enough; she will be bringing her around to the office and working from there again."_

_ "That's a strange decision." _Tenshi wondered why Rikako would be willing to do that when she could work just as well from home.

_"Try to put yourself in Rikako's shoes Tenshi. She loves science, loves her job. I'm sure she's itching to go back and is only holding back for the sake of her child." _Tenshi grunted at this; she still felt it a bit of a slight against the child. _"To each their own Tenshi. If Rikako wishes to do that; we should fully support her." _Tenshi reluctantly nodded; they finally meandered onto the site where the women were working and Rinnosuke approached one of the workers at random. _"Has the piece been found yet?" _The girl; with antenna sticking out of her green hair and dressed in the plain garments of a BIRD worker, turned to address him:

_"No sir, we have yet to locate the piece."_

_ "The piece?" _As the worker returned to her duty; Tenshi addressed Rinnosuke. _"What exactly are we here for?"_

_ "That's a secret." _Rinnosuke. _"Just a little mess we need to clean up." _Tenshi raised an eyebrow slightly; but said nothing. Rinnsouke shrugged and then mentioned, _"I suppose I can give you a bit of backstory; I just need to keep it ambiguous." _Tenshi nodded to signify her agreement. _"If that's the case; follow me. This is the sort of thing the workers don't need to hear." _Rinnosuke took a hold of Tenshi's arm and led her over to the base of a large tree that hung over the rubble of the shrine.

_"If you're going this far; obviously this must be important." _Tenshi rolled her eyes slightly and leaned herself against the tree. Rinnosuke put a palm against the tree and casually slouched towards Tenshi as he whispered confidentially:

_"It is, believe me." _Tenshi slid back somewhat; feeling a bit flustered in their current position. _"Now, have you studied mythology during your time as a rambunctious young girl?"_

_ "Miss Nagae tried her best to give me some instruction in that regard. Now, being who I was back then I wouldn't know how much of it I can recall." _Rinnosuke nodded, began to elaborate:

_"I suppose a refresher course would probably be in order then. 'Outside' Nordic mythology has the tale of the Midgard Serpent: J__ö__rmungandr. Serpent son of Loki who grew large enough to engulf the world by biting on his own tale. One of the events heralding Ragnar__ö__k; the end and renewal of the world in their myths." _Tenshi nodded; Rinnosuke continued, _"Now, the idea here is that J__ö__rmungandr is both something that held the world together and would be instrumental to it's destruction. Much in the same way, what we seek is instrumental to our continued survival- and our untimely demise."_

_ "So we are seeking the key to our own destruction?"_

_ "Something like that; yes."_

_ "Pretty dumb idea if you ask me." _Tenshi gestured towards the shrine ruins. _"If what's in there is really is horribly powerful as you claim; I wouldn't even treat it with kid gloves- I'd be miles away with a secured perimeter around it at all times."_

_ "But remember that the object we are recovering is also the key to our salvation." _Rinnosuke suddenly murmured to himself as something occurred to him. _"You weren't one of the ones debriefed on what occurred here, were you?" _Tenshi shook her head; suddenly feeling that she would dread the answer. _"This rubble was where Second Impact occurred; putting it simply." _Tenshi's mouth widened along with her eyes this time; she then realized that the area had felt different from others. The air here was slightly alive; crackling as if teeming with latent energy. It made her hairs stand on end; Tenshi shuddered involuntarily and shirked away from the tree.

_"Four years have passed- little of the destructive power remains," _Rinnosuke pointed out with a grin apparent on his face.

_"Yeah, but it's still a bit of a frightening thought you know." _Rinnosuke shrugged.

_"If you say so. Now, there is nothing more I can tell you- oh!" _Rinnosuke stepped past Tenshi and up to that insect-like youkai worker; who had run up to them amidst a sudden outburst from her fellow workers. _"Has it been found?" _The worker only nodded; she led the lot of them back to the ruined building. Here the workers were clearing a section of wall from a fallen fixture. As they did so and lifted it up; Tenshi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight. The workers were hauling a large rope fixture into a standing position; with coils of white paper falling from it's sides as they set it in place with readied weights. The paper tassels fluttered in the mountain breeze; the fixture stood at least the height of two full sized men.

_"What is it?" _The timid voice of the youkai worker spoke here.

_"That is confidential. But that, on the other hand is not." _Rinnosuke indicated a small wooden block being pulled from the cleared space where the rope ring had once stood. From this distance Tenshi saw that trigrams had been engraved into one side. _"The Hakkero; or J__ö__rmungandr in other words."_

At this Tenshi awoke; her eyes jolting open with one last fleeting vision of the Hakkero. She felt around her; determined that she was lying alone in her bed and that it was 11 in the morning. Of course, she was back in the present. Tenshi rubbed lightly at her eyes and pulled herself out of her bed; wondering what had brought her to recall this particular memory. It had been roughly 22 years ago since that moment; and Tenshi tried her hardest not to remember the happiness of her past. Pushing it from her mind; Tenshi prepared herself for work as she always did. A knock at her bedroom door; Tenshi grunted to signify freedom to enter. Iku entered as Tenshi was donning her signature hat.

_"They wanted me to tell you that it's almost time for the meeting." _Tenshi nodded curtly. _"Also, breaking news from CAT leadership." _Tenshi groaned as she made minute adjustments to the alignment of her hat.

_"That sounds very encouraging."_

_ "Oh don't worry Tenshi," _Iku dryly remarked. _"The part that you won't like isn't on the table- yet."_

_

* * *

_

Alice staggered back under the blow; grunted as she felt the explosion of pain emanate from her cheek. She fell backwards onto cold, hard pavement; immediately scrambled up to a sitting position to evaluate what had just occurred. Remilia stood over her; one fist still balled up with a dark look in her eyes. Hong stood behind her; a hand clasped loosely over her mouth as she watched events unfold and kept the parasol over Remilia's head. Alice felt something warm in her mouth; with her tongue she confirmed that she was bleeding from the mouth. Remilia continued to look quietly at Alice.

_"I think that's enough. Come on China." _Remilia gestured for the pair of them to go. Alice slowly drew up; keeping a weary eye on the vampiress as she did so. A hand rubbed at her still tender cheek; Alice spat out bloody spittle and shuddered in disgust. Remilia snorted condescendingly and began to walk away; China handing the parasol over and hanging behind.

_"China?"_

_ "Just going to make sure that she's okay Remilia." _Remilia shrugged noncommittally and she moved away from them. Hong waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Alice. _"Sorry about that. Are you okay?" _Alice nodded slowly; winced when Hong put a hand lightly onto her shoulder. _"You sure?" _Alice nodded insistently; moved under Hong's arm and began to dust herself off with forced nonchalance.

_"I don't mind the violence." _Alice kept her voice level. _"What I want to know is why Miss Scarlet went to the trouble of hurting me."_

_ "Her sister Flandre was hurt in that battle last week. I think she's pinning the blame for it onto you- since you were the pilot of Shanghai." _Alice felt her heart sink at this; she had been wondering who that injured girl Tenshi had mentioned in passing had been. Now she could recall that the victim had been identified as a 'Flandre Scarlet'.

_"I'm sorry."_ Alice couldn't think of anything more to say; figured that it would be best to keep quiet. Hong waved it off.

_"It's nothing. Anyways, I think we should get back to class now. Best we go seperately; after that display I think Remilia will be on my case if she sees me with you." _Alice nodded; Hong ran off after Remilia, who had long since disappeared around a street corner. They had brought Alice out of sight of the school under the guise of eating lunch together. Alice felt the blood welling up in her mouth and spat it out again. Obviously, she had made a poor judgment call in believing them. Hong seemed to be genuinely concerned; at least. Alice stood there for a minute in a reverie; before shaking herself out of it and making the trek back to school.

_"Welcome to class Alice," _Miss Kamishirasawa greeted her as she entered. The bell rung just as she entered. _"So you're just on time as well. Good, I don't need to hurt... you..." _Keine trailed off as she saw the condition that Alice was in. _"Miss Morichika? Are you okay?" _Alice nodded. _"Thats a nasty bruise you've got on your cheek; are you sure we shouldn't send you to the nurse?" _Keine sounded genuinely concerned; Alice waved her offer away and took her seat. _"Erm well... Let's continue with our discussion of Gensokyo history..." _As she began to lecture Alice looked back and caught Medicine's eye.

_"Anything you need help with?" _Medicine mouthed the question silently; held up a strong fist to emphasize the point. Alice gave a slight shake of her head; she didn't feel like retaliating against Remilia. Such an action would probably only cause more trouble. Medicine nodded and turned back to the teacher; Alice following suit.

_"The organization of BIRD actually existed before Second Impact; accounts of it's existence back then say that it was an organization dedicated to the study of 'Outside' technology." _Alice had no supplies to take notes; she figured she would get the supplies and copy them off Medicine or Hong tomorrow. _"This would consequently explain why they were in a position to modernize Gensokyo following the failing of all magic after Second Impact..." _Alice found that the hours in school melded into one another; and soon she found that it was 4 in the afternoon and that they had been dismissed.

Alice made her way to a small store that Sakuya had outlined to her on a map of Human Town-3. She made her necessary purchases and continued her walk home carrying a plastic bag crammed with school supplies. She made her way to Sakuya's apartment; when there she set the supplies aside and started on her assignments. It was 6 in the afternoon when Sakuya came home.

_"You're early Miss Izayoi." _Alice looked up; then froze. Something was wrong.

_"Alice. An Angel is incoming."_

_

* * *

_

_ "The youkai has been identified as Lily White; former fairy who heralded the coming of spring." _Patchouli entered a model of the Angel into their screen; a blonde girl in a pinkish princess like costume appeared on the screen. Various bullets identified her as having extremely impressive energy available to her. _"This will have to be a battle of attrition- from what we can tell; the Angel has no Spell Cards, thus it has no weak points to attack. She also has strong magic; so destroying her through constant attacks will be difficult as well. She won't be taken down easily." _Patchouli grunted; slammed a fist on the control board. _"I haven't had the time to upgrade Shanghai yet- without that time increasing upgrade this fight is going to be dangerously close."_

_ "We have little choice." _From the command booth, Iku's voice boomed throughout the control room. Tenshi was still in the middle of discussions with CAT and Iku had taken over command as a result._"The angel is due to contact Human Town-3 in 10 minutes- we must engage immediately. Is the 1__st__ Children ready yet?"_

_ "Sakuya brought her to the launch room; we are waiting on her to give us approval to go." _Patchouli brought up a new screen. _"Video feed on the Angel confirmed." _A camera view of the Angel slowly approaching popped up. She walked the same footpath that Rumia had been killed on just a week ago. As they spoke; Lily actually walked through the area where Rumia had been killed, still marked by a telltale crater beside the only recently repaired pathway. The nuclear symbol that the Angels apparently shared glowered brightly through her loosely hanging bangs. A click from the communicator; then Sakuya's voice:

_"Alice is set up and ready. Waiting on you to launch." _Patchouli picked up her own communicator and responded:

_"Copy. Rika, Natori, Koakuma. Run through diagnostics and ensure that we are ready for engagement." _The three young girls who had been assigned to aid her in the control room nodded and began scrolling through various menus and screens.

_"Everything checks out madame." _The demoness Koakuma spoke here. Patchouli nodded in acknowledgment and gave the order:

_"Launch."_

_

* * *

_

Remilia and Hong were outside the metal gate of the city; staring into the distance at the approaching Angel. The brilliance of her symbol was such that even from this far of a distance; the pair of them could see it glowering at them. Remilia tried to get a closer glimpse at the former youkai; shuddered when she realized that it's eyes were more or less focused on them. What they were doing out of the safety of the city was beyond her; she turned to Hong and began to protest:

_"What the hell are we doing here?"_ Remilia tried to pull Hong closer; Hong sliped around her grasp. _"There's a freaking Angel who could brutally slaughter us approaching!"_ Hong waved her off as she stared at the top of the dome:

_"I wanna see Alice in action! I was so pissed when I was cramped into that shelter last week- I want to see the action personally!" _Hong sounded extremely exited; Remilia rolled her eyes. Hong had a bit of a fetish for combat and all things related to it; though it had yet to get them into trouble. Remilia made a move for Hong; managed to get a forceful grasp on her arm. She was wheeling them into the city despite Hong's protests.

_"Really China, I didn't think you could be this..." _Remilia froze as a hum sounded from the metal gateway into Human Town-3. A second later; the purple shield slid around the gate and into the space that had once been open; sealing the city off from the outside. Remilia dropped off in a horrified manner, _"...dumb." _They stood there for a moment in silence. _"China... you're a moron." _Remilia walked up to the shielded door and began to uselessly palm at it.

_"Don't worry," _Hong said with more than a hint of worry staining her somewhat overly breezy tone. _"I'm sure Alice will be sent out and that we'll be safe!"_

_ "Safe- yeah right," _Remilia grunted as she continued to strike at the shield; shouting and drawing back when a globule of energy separated from the shield and nearly struck her across the face. _"I'm sure that the girl who got my sister into the hospital can save us- China!" _Hong had sprung at Remilia when Lily had suddenly begun launching flurries of bullets at them. They were poorly aimed; from this distance most of them spread out and dissipated into the shield, but enough were fired so as to force the two girls to start moving. Hong dragged Remilia along the contour of the shield as bullets whizzed around them; Remilia cursing as they ran along. _"I knew this wasn't going to end well; I knew it! China, did you forget that I have wings?" _Hong froze, tightened her hold on Remilia's waist. Remilia began to fly; slowly and jerkily they began to make their way up.

_"Are you sure you can fly us?"_

_ "Yeah, there should be a hill or something that we can get on," _Remilia responded with a constricted voice; already she was growing tired of carrying the both of them. _"Just a bit more and we'll be safe-" _The rest of her reassurance was cut off by a bullet slamming into the shield behind them. The force sent them rebounding; Remilia couldn't adjust for the sudden shift and they began to fall to earth. They both screamed; bounced off the ground and rolled to rest up against the shield.

Lily was approaching faster now; they could make out her clothes and facial features, all of which were seemingly fixated on them. Hong and Remilia scrambled to their feet and began to run once more; Lily following them with her inexorable gaze. More bullets were fired; Hong and Remilia dodged them with difficulty and continued to flee.

_"I blame you for this China! If we die-" _Remilia tried to move her wings; found them unresponsive. _"-If we die; I am going to haunt you from hell!" _

_"I'm sorry Remilia!" _Hong tried her sincere hardest to apologize as best she could with a monster hunting them down. _"I didn't mean to get you involved into this and- hey, it's Alice!" _Hong pointed a finger at the top of the dome; with a glance Remilia was able to confirm that Alice had indeed somehow alighted on top of the shield.

Alice from her vantage point looked down and saw the Angel firing bullets at some moving group. She raised an eyebrow; wondering who could get outside given that the city was on alert. Keeping a hand on Shanghai's controls, Alice squinted to catch a better glimpse of those running from the Angel. From where she was, she made out bat like wings protruding from one of the girl's backs. The realization then hit her:

_"Miss Scarlet! Miss Meiling!" _Almost immediately Alice sprung into action; jumping down and sliding along the contour of the shield's dome as quickly as she could reasonably go. She aligned herself to land at a spot before them; silently prayed that they weren't harmed in anyway. Shanghai tensed itself; joints clicked as they braced to spring into action. She was at the edge now; directly over the heads of the two running girls. Shanghai flew; Alice flew with it and they soared into the sky, momentum carrying them between Hong and Remilia and Lily. They landed; Shanghai pulled a gun from it's belt and fired a hail of bullets at Lily, who dodged them with ease.

_"What the hell are you two doing out here?" _Alice managed to shout over the sound of Shanghai's emulator firing.

_"Blame China!" _Remilia shot a dirty glance at Hong; who nodded apologetically. Remilia felt a bit awkward now that Alice had appeared; she had begun to regret having thrown a punch at Alice, and only felt worse now that Alice was saving their lives. _"Listen Alice, I have to say that-"_

_ "No time!" _Alice shouted; Shanghai's emulator had run out of power. With a groan she threw it aside; began to retreat as Lily responded in kind with her own hail of bullets. _"Stay behind me; please!" _Hong and Remilia almost immediately complied and piled themselves as best as they could behind Alice's back; peering from their position at the batlle unfolding before them. Alice was thrashing the marionette's controls about; Shanghai was trying to close the distance to use it's razor but it's string didn't have enough range.

_"Alice!" _Sakuya shouted through the communicator. _"Lily's bullet hail is getting thicker- we think she's just toying with you!"_

_ "That's a nice thought!" _Alice shouted sarcastically. _"What the hell should I do now?"_

_ "Keep falling back, we'll think of something!" _Alice complied and used her leg to get Hong and Remilia inching backwards. Using Shanghai to bounce back any bullets that happened to stray too close to them; she kept the distance between Lily and themselves enough so as to prevent them from being overwhelmed by the increasingly large walls of bullets that Lily was firing now. _"Anything yet?"_

_ "We're still working on it!" _

_"Well try to hurry it up! This is getting difficult to keep up!" _The bullet's speed and frequency just continued to rise; where Shanghai was only deflecting the occasionally well-aimed bullet it now had to constantly bounce bullets away with it's razor.

_"Two minutes operation time left!" _The voice of a young girl sounded over the commlink.

_"You heard Rika, we need to get a solution here ASAP! Patchy, do you have anything?" _Sakuya sounded stressed; and it was understandable given the pressure that all parties were now under.

_"Nothing- we've got no weapons left that will kill the Angel without exposing Shanghai to destruction." _

_ "So it's up to me?" _Sakuya groaned as she thought.

_"No; it's actually up to me." _Iku spoke up now; from her position as deputy commander she had such authority. _"For now we must consider Lily unbeatable and retreat. We will consolidate our resources and think of another attack plan." _Various protests were raised up at this; Iku cut through them sharply, _"No arguments. We have little option in the matter- the Angel will destroy us if we don't fall back. The shields will hold while we lick our wounds." _Slowly, a grudging agreement came from the BIRD staff.

_"Okay then," _Sakuya grunted into the communicator. _"Alice, did you catch that? Alice?" _The pilot was unresponsive. When they brought up the screen; they found that Alice was intently surveying the battlefield and seemed to have ignored the command. _"Alice? Alice. We're ordering you to retreat." _Hong picked up on the conversation and decided that it would be best to relay the message on to Alice. She timidly touched Alice's shoulder and cautiously explained:

_"Alice... you're under orders to retreat." _Alice remained unresponsive; only barely even responding to the now thick hail of bullets that sped around them. Hong tapped harder; more insistently. _"Alice, we've got to go!"_

_ "One minute and counting!" _Rika cautioned as she read the magic levels of the doll.

_"Alice, please. We've got to pull back." _Sakuya firmly commanded through the communicator. Alice only cocked her head slightly. _"Alice, what are you-?" _Sakuya questioned with a hint of uneasiness. And then Alice sprung into action.

Shanghai drew it's razor; Alice used a strong foot to drive Remilia and Hong backwards and down onto the ground. She began to run towards Lily; keeping Shanghai before her and using it to cut through the bullet hail.

_"What are you doing?" _Sakuya actually slammed her palms onto the control panels; shouted at Alice. _"Get back!"_

Alice ignored the command and jumped; Shanghai followed suit and they soared towards the Angel. Lily responded with a stream of bullets; with Alice closer they were more focused and they sped by her, in extremely dangerous proximity at times. Remilia and Hong shouted from their postion for Alice to stop; the command team did the same. Alice ignored all of them; a confident grin growing wide on her face as she flew through the air.

_"Thirty seconds!"_

Alice used her free hand to pull a personal emulator from her pocket; it was smaller than Shanghai's issued gun and only held 8 rounds. Despite herself she let out a battle cry; felt adrenaline rushing as she reveled in the audacity and risk of her hastily improvised plan. She could see the whites of Lily's eyes now; the glean of each individual bullet as it was formed in the Angel's hands. One was forming now; as time slowed due to her rush she could tell that it was aimed directly at her. The bullet was completed. Shanghai began to ready it's razor. Lily drew back to let the bullet fly. And then Shanghai hit.

The razor stabbed through Lily's head; blood streamed from the wound as Shanghai used the Angel's head as a platform to jump off and pull it's own blade out of the Angel's head. Lily staggered; the bullet faded out of it's hands. But it was still alive.

_"Ten seconds!"_

_ "Alice!" _Sakuya shouted over the communicator.

Alice responded by hitting the safety switch on her personal emulator and releasing seven of the eight bullets; encased in little capsules they fell to earth. One fell straight into the gaping wound that Shanghai's blade had left, where it lodged and glinted for all to see. Alice turned her gun with it's final bullet remaining at Lily. She fired. And missed. But then the bullet hit another of the capsules she had released as it expanded in it's flight. This set that bullet off; it expanded. And that set the next bullet off. And so on until every bullet had been activated. Including the one lodged in Lily's head.

Alice landed on the ground with less grace than she could have hoped for; shut down Shanghai's controls with little less than three seconds remaining and the entire control team breathed a sigh of relief. And then they evaluated the battle scene. And then they broke into cheering.

Lily had been essentially beheaded by Alice's daring action; her head having been vaporized by the expansion of the bullet. The corpse remained in place; frozen stock still with it's arm still pointed up as if to fire one last bullet into the sky. But the Angel Lily breathed no more. The cheering from the control room couldn't have been louder.

_"Alice! By the gods, you did it!" _Sakuya laughed with little restraint; releasing the stress she had just experienced in mirth. Patchouli glanced at her with a bit of incredulity, but shrugged and leaned back in her chair; also somewhat tense from the close call they had just had. The three young girls helping her were personally congratulating Alice; who's cocky grin couldn't have been wider. Hong and Remilia had also looked up; once they had realized that the battle was over, they had made their way over to Alice and were congratulating her.

_"Nice one!" _Hong put a strong hand on Alice's shoulder; smiled at her. _"And of course; we owe you our lives."_

_ "Yes, well..." _Alice's smile remained even as she tried to play down her own role and seem modest. _"I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal." _Sakuya was still laughing as she responded:

_"Not a big deal? That was the best performance we've ever seen from a pilot- especially considering that you're so new." _Sakuya took a deep breath; managed to get her mirth under restraint. _"Yes, you have quite a mind for battle Alice. There's much potential in you... Miss Hiranai!" _Alice raised an eyebrow. _"Your mother was out during the battle Alice; she's only just returned. Miss Hiranai, the battle went well. Alice here-"_

_ "Save it." _Alice's look grew ugly when she heard the nonchalance with which Tenshi spoke. Hong arched an eyebrow; Alice shook her head. _"I've got important news; CAT has reached a decision."_

_ "Alice is to be transferred to their base in Human Town-2; effective immediately."_


End file.
